The Mountain View City Council was scheduled to vote last night on a plan that would lease city-owned property off San Antonio Road to the Community School of Music & Arts. CSMA will begin a capital campaign to build a permanent state-of-the-art facility for music and arts education on the site.
City staff recommended to council members that the city enter into a long-term ground lease at market rates at the San Antonio Loop site. The recommendation is the result of a 60-day review period when city staff, at the direction of the council, researched city-owned sites for CSMA's relocation. The staff concluded that the most feasible site was the property located within the San Antonio Loop. The site is currently being used as a storage area for construction materials.
"The San Antonio Loop site has high visibility, is easily accessible by a majority of current students, and is served by public transportation. It also offers enhanced accessibility to youth in North Mountain View neighborhoods," said executive director Andrea S. Temkin. "This is an exciting opportunity for city officials and a non-profit to collaborate and create a community resource that will benefit the entire region."
For the past two years CSMA has been searching for a permanent home in Mountain View for the 30-year old nonprofit arts education organization. The school's current facility at Huff School, which is rented from the Mountain View School District, is being reopened as a public elementary school.
The Community School has grown to become the largest arts education organization in Santa Clara County. Its faculty of 75 professional musicians, practicing artists and arts educators serve more than 16,000 children and adults annually.
In Mountain View, every elementary-age child enrolled in a public school receives arts education through CSMA's arts-in-the-schools programs. The school's financial-aid program will award more than $110,000 this year through merit scholarships, tuition assistance, work-study positions and arts-in-the-school classroom subsidies.