To: Board of Supervisors
From: Warren Lai, Public Works Director/Chief Engineer
Report Title: Purchase of Five Acres of Undeveloped Property in Brentwood for $2,640,000
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Public Works Director to execute a purchase and sale agreement between the County and William V. Roche, Trustee of the William V. Roche Trust and David S. Roche, Trustee of the David S. Roche Trust (together, Sellers), for the County’s purchase of approximately five acres of undeveloped real property located near the corner of Brentwood Boulevard and Technology Way in Brentwood having APN No. 016-120-024 (Property) at a purchase price of $2,640,000 (Purchase Price) for use in the construction of the East County Service Center.
DETERMINE that the purchase of the Property is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to Article 5, Section 15061[b][3] of the CEQA Guidelines because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the acquisition of the property itself may have a significant effect on the environment.
DIRECT the Director of Conservation and Development (DCD), or designee, to file a Notice of Exemption (NOE) with the County Clerk and the State Clearinghouse.
AUTHORIZE the Public Works Director, or designee, to arrange for payment of a $25 fee to DCD for processing, and a $50 fee to the County Clerk for filing the NOE.
ACCEPT the Grant Deed from Sellers for the purchase of the Property.
AUTHORIZE the Auditor-Controller to wire approximately $2,650,000, payable to Old Republic Title Company, 555 12th Street, Suite 2000, Oakland, CA 94607, for credit to Escrow Number 1117028732-JS, Attn: Jennifer Senhaji, Escrow Officer, which amount is equal to the Purchase Price and estimated closing costs.
DIRECT the Real Estate Division to have this staff report and a certificate of acceptance delivered to Old Republic Title Company for recording in the Office of the County Recorder.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The purchase price and the closing costs will be paid using General Fund Capital reserves as part of the overall project budget for the East County Service Center (ECSC) project. The ECSC project is the first major project envisioned by the Capital Master Plan adopted by the County in September 2022.
BACKGROUND:
The property being acquired is adjacent to three acres of unimproved property the County owns along Technology Way in Brentwood (the Existing Parcel). The Existing Parcel is the planned site of the ECSC. The purchase of these additional five acres will expand the development site and eliminate the need to construct a parking garage as part of the development, saving the County an estimated $15 - $20 million. In addition, the additional five acres will provide the County with more flexibility in the design of the ECSC.
The ECSC will be approximately 120,000 square feet and will house 440 county staff across at least nine departments.
A notice of this Board’s intention to consider this property acquisition at today’s meeting was duly published in the Contra Costa Times in compliance with Government Code sections 25350 and 6063.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
Without this purchase the total project cost of the ECSC project will be $15-20 million higher due to the need to build a parking structure for staff and the public.