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By unanimous vote Monday evening, the Brownsville Independent School District Board of Trustees gave initial approval to a contract to sell the former Cummings Middle School property to the city to expand the Gladys Porter Zoo.
If given final approval, which is expected in the coming days or weeks, the contract would initiate the Cummings sale to the city of Brownsville for $16 million, with the city to lease the property back to BISD for three to five years while a new location for the Cummings CTE Center is built, school district attorney Miguel Salinas said.
Brownsville’s zoo is not only the city’s biggest tourist draw but also known around the country for its successful breeding program to conserve endangered species. Accreditation by the national Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) allows it to pursue that mission. AZA standards are continually evolving, however, and Gladys Porter has been told it must modernize and expand some of its major exhibits in order to maintain accreditation.
That’s why the city and the zoo need BISD’s property across East Ringgold Street — the former Cummings Middle School campus, now the home of BISD’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) center. The plan is for BISD to move its CTE program to a newer, larger facility that would enable the district to expand its CTE offerings and accommodate more students. The city has paid for a feasibility study to look at potential options and associated costs.
Details of the potential sale emerged during the public portion of a special called board of trustees meeting Monday evening and afterward.
“The city is going to pay $16 million total. This was based on the city’s appraisal. It was $14.6 million for real property and $1.4 million for furniture and fixtures and moving everything out. We’re going to close this year. It’s already September,” Salinas told The Brownsville Herald after the meeting.
The board also unanimously approved an inter-local agreement to govern the period the city leases the property back to BISD after purchase.
During the public portion of the meeting, board members Carlos Elizondo and Frank Ortiz sought assurances the city doesn’t plan to build a hotel or other retail business on the property.
City Manager Helen Ramirez said because the city would use certificates of obligation to fund the purchase, building a hotel or other retail establishment on the property would be prohibited.
“We want to be a good partner and we want to set you up for success in the future. The city’s going to work hand in hand with the school district and whatever is great for the CTE programs. We just want to work with BISD to make you successful, I mean that’s the whole point,” Ramirez told the board.
Chief Financial Officer Alejandro Cespedes said in a presentation that it would cost roughly $20 million to $25 million to replicate the 43,000-square-foot Cummings CTE Center housed on the Cummings campus.
Doubling the size to 85,000 or 90,000 square feet would cost roughly $62 million. Cespedes advised doing the plans for the larger facility when the move is made, but only building the 43,000-square-foot facility at first.
Superintendent Jesus H. Chavez said the money from the sale would be dedicated to a CTE facility from the beginning.
“With the sale and those dollars in the bank, we’re going to say those dollars are for CTE, and they’re going to be specifically designated for that and they’re going to be invested,” Chavez said, adding that in the end it could be a wash: replacement costs do go up, but you’ve earned some interest in the meantime.
Trustee Eddie Garcia referenced possible funding assistance through the Greater Brownsville Improvements Corp., or GBIC.
“Let’s clarify this,” Garcia said just before the meeting went into closed executive session.
“We’re getting $16 million to relocate. The exact same size would be anywhere between $22 million to $25 million, so we would be short $7 million, which the city has already offered that we can go through GBIC and try to get some extra cash, so we’re not talking about this is not do-able,” he said.
“Now, to double, that’s when it would cost $60-plus million, so let’s not confuse what the offer is right now. … We haven’t built a brand-new facility in decades. It’s something the district should be looking forward to, building something brand-spanking new for our deserving students.”
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