At the Thursday night school board meeting, the Claremont Unified School District Board of Education accepted Claremont Lincoln University’s bid for a large parcel of surplus property.

At a June 9 auction, the university—the youngest of Claremont’s institutes of higher education—offered the district $14.35 million for a 9.7-acre parcel located at 2475 N. Forbes Ave.

For a decade years, the location was the site of Claremont’s second junior high, La Puerta Intermediate School. While La Puerta was shuttered in 1978, community enrichment programs such as parenting classes continued to be held on the grounds for many years. 

The property was snapped up for $19 million in November 2013. The buyer, Irvine-based homebuilders Brandywine Homes, backed out of the deal a few months later when the city failed to approve the number of units the company had hoped to build on the site.

Escrow can be a lengthy and uncertain process, but the district is looking forward to having money to sink into some long overdue capital projects.

Money from two other sites the district has sold in the last few years is closer at hand. CUSD closed escrow on the sale of its former district office, located at 2080 N. Mountain Ave., in June of 2013. It is in the final stages of escrow on the sale of its former service center, located at 700 W. Baseline Road, with the closing expected to occur in July.

With the district’s financial prospects rosier than they have been in some time, the school board was also asked to approve a list of high-priority projects for district schools. The renovation of the El Roble Intermediate School pool, whose aging equipment has rendered it unusable, is at the top of the list. Board members unanimously approved the list. 

—Sarah Torribio

storribio@claremont-courier.com