School district officials are officially on the move as the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) begins shifting its offices to a new location on 4th Street.
Officials affirmed Thursday that the new location will be up and running on Feb. 21 following a week of transition from the old location at 1651 16th St. to 1717 4th St.
The District announced its intention to move in October of 2020 and Board members voted to buy the office building from the Doubletree Hotel for $21 million. At the time, the Board said the move would make operations more efficient by combining all of its departments under one roof on the same block as its largest school and could become actively profitable down the line.
The new building has 31,000 square feet of space compared to 22,000 square feet in the existing office. Due to limited space at the current headquarters, the District rented out additional space for Educational Services in the back of the building and Child Development Services has worked in a separate building at 4th St. and Ashland Ave. In addition to saving on rent, the soon-to-be vacant building could be rented for a profit in the future.
Interim Superintendent Dr. Mark Kelly said earlier this month that the old offices would be largely vacated by Feb. 10.
"All phone numbers and email addresses will remain the same and staff may be contacted during normal business hours during the week of transition," said Kelly. "If you have District business that requires an in-person visit, please get in touch with your contact to determine the meeting location."
Kelly said the move will allow for better collaboration and provide easy access to Samohi when necessary.
"I appreciate our staff’s enthusiasm and support during this transition and thank your stakeholders in advance for your cooperation, patience and understanding while our staff transitions and gets settled in our new spaces," he said.
