The Austin Independent School District is prepared to sell two of its largest, highest-value properties. Bids for the district’s downtown headquarters and its teaching facility in Hyde Park were revealed in the agenda for the Board of Trustee’s Nov. 27 meeting, where members are expected to OK the sale.
Austin-based development firm SDC placed a $36.5 million bid on the West Sixth Street headquarters, the Carruth Administration Center; Alamo Drafthouse submitted a $10.6 million bid for the district’s Baker Center, located on Avenue B at 39th Street in Hyde Park.
The district began the process of selling the properties last September.
It’s unclear what SDC’s plans are for the district’s headquarters, but the firm has had a handful of projects in the west downtown area near Lamar, including the Whole Foods and HomeAway headquarters.
Alamo’s plans include the construction of single-family homes on the 4.36-acre lot at the Baker Center – a quarter of those units will be dedicated to affordable housing.
The district will finalize the decisions at its meeting next week.
This isn't the first time the district has tried to sell the properties. In 2011, Austin ISD put out a call for bids on the two properties, but ultimately turned down the offers.
The district will also vote next week on a transfer of ownership of the Millett Opera House, which houses the Austin Club, from the district to a private nonprofit. And it could vote to sell properties on Doris Drive and Tannehill Lane.
The sales will help the district pay for and construct its new headquarters.
