The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District confirmed Thursday that it will not be submitting a proposal to purchase the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium under the Surplus Land Act (SLA).
During a meeting of the district’s Board of Education, SMMUSD Superintendent Dr. Antonio Shelton said that while the district “continues to be interested in purchasing and rehabilitating” the auditorium, it will not be submitting a formal proposal to the City of Santa Monica.
“The district has decided to step aside in order to allow time and opportunity for alternative proposals to be made to the city,” Shelton said at the meeting. “While SMMUSD will not submit a proposal at this time, the district continues to have an interest in pursuing the purchase of the Civic. Should another entity not surface … we would then go back and have these conversations. But at this time, we are going to step aside and let the city do its due diligence.”
The Civic Auditorium has been closed since 2013, aside from a small meeting space in the East Wing that shut down in 2020. In 2022, the City of Santa Monica declared the property as “surplus” under the SLA, a required designation before any lease or sale of the property can occur. The SLA process directs cities to notify and conduct good faith negotiations with affordable housing developers and public agencies for open space or educational purposes before negotiating with other parties.
In accordance with the SLA, the City issued a notice of availability, previously negotiating with the Community Corporation of Santa Monica. City Council rejected the bid, leaving the district as the lone interested party. The district notified the City of its interest in repurposing the Civic as a multipurpose educational and commercial use facility, assuming future bond financing could be obtained for the project, but the district never submitted a formal notice of interest to the City.
With the district passing on a formal proposal, City of Santa Monica Communications and Public Information Manager Lauren G. Howland told the Daily Press that the City will now look to end the SLA process. The City will turn to receiving clearance from the California Department of Housing & Community Development (HCD) to end the SLA process and negotiate with other parties for the property. After receiving clearance, Howland said that the City will “most likely” send out a Request For Proposal (RFP) or hire a broker to solicit interested purchasers, operators and developers for the auditorium. “There’s nothing that stops SMMUSD or any other party from submitting a proposal at that point,” Howland noted.
Shelton made clear that the district maintains “a sound plan to revitalize the Civic” that “respects its historic and community significance.” SMMUSD’s vision for the property as a multipurpose space would include district, Santa Monica High School and community uses; such as gymnasium events, theater shows and a concert venue. A feasibility study unveiled to the public during an August 17 board meeting concluded that the Civic project was possible, but would cost an estimated $226,570,000. The study pointed to an expansion of the Samohi campus footprint alongside the Civic purchase, and during the pause in the Civic process, the district will continue its pursuit of the current Samohi campus plan.
The superintendent also noted that “other organizations and individuals have been vocal in their desire and claims to have the ability and resources to find another interested party” for the property. On Tuesday, community organization Save the Civic member Bea Nemlaha said the group was “thrilled” that the district will not be submitting a formal proposal, stating that Save the Civic “saw no support from the community and almost none from City Council for the district’s plan.”