Press Releases

SALINAS, Calif. - The Alisal Union School District and Valley Community Homes, the builders of the recently approved Sconberg Ranch development project, have reached an agreement to implement into the project a "developer-built school."

In lieu of paying developer fees, Valley Community Homes will finance, build and donate a high-quality elementary school with modern classrooms and core facilities on a nine-acre site in the Sconberg Ranch subdivision in East Salinas.

"We applaud the leadership of the Alisal Union School District Board of Trustees," said Valley Community Homes principal Brad Smith. "We have been meeting with the school district for over a year and we are very excited to move this project forward."

The benefits of a developer-built school - an increasingly popular approach to building public education facilities in California - are significant. Typically developers can build a state-of-the-art school with cost savings of at least 30 percent. It offers the capability to fast track the design process and reduces the actual construction time by 50 percent. It also ensures that the school is built concurrently with the surrounding subdivision.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for the Alisal Union School District. This innovative approach allows for more local control of the design and structure, and is done in a rapid, permanent and more cost-effective manner," said Jesus Valasquez, President of the Alisal Union School District Board of Trustees.

The Sconberg Ranch project is located on 200 acres bordered northwest by Williams Road and southwest to Alisal Road. The project plans for 853 single-family homes, including 102 inclusionary homes, the donation of a 21-acre community park site, and the dedication of two-acre land parcel for the expansion of the existing Bardin Elementary School. Construction is expected to begin in 2004.