Students who might be harboring hopes oftaking classes in Oaks Shopping Center next to their favoritestores might have to wake up and smell the coffee. In an Oct. 25closed-session meeting, the Foothill-De Anza Board of Trusteesdiscussed the possibility of purchasing the center.The boarddecided not to purchase the Oaks Shopping Center.
“The school does not have enoughmoney to purchase the property,” said Jeanine Hawk, vicepresident of college finance and services. “We were not ableto come up with the necessary capital in the time frame required bythe owner,” she said.
Money was not De Anza’s onlyshortfall. The school also lacked critically needed time to come upwith funding alternatives. If De Anza had intended to make anoffer, it would have to be submitted to the owner by Oct. 28, onlythree days after the Board of Trustees met.
“As I mentioned before, it was a very short timeline,”Hawk said. “We needed to come up with the ability to financethe project by Oct. 28 and we were not able to do that in thatshort of a timeline.”
De Anza still has another chance to makeOaks Shopping Center a part of the school, so students who reallywanted to take classes there should not despair just yet.
“I think what we will be doing is waiting to find out whodoes purchase the center and then see if there is any opportunityfor us to partner with them in some way,” said Hawk.
The only solace for students who really wanted to see De Anzaexpand across Stevens Creek Boulevard might be the old saying,”You can’t miss what you never had.”
Categories:
Campus Updates: The Oaks
Board rejects plan to purchase center
November 8, 2004
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