A billionaire donor to the city ‘s new gym revealed – and his money is secured News

If Palo Alto were to accept tens of millions of dollars from a donor to build a new gym, it should also speed up the project approval process and give the donor full say in choosing a contractor and designing a gym. .

These are the terms that donor, billionaire developer and philanthropist John Arrillaga has attached to his bid to give at least $ 30 million to build the gym. The city’s Parks and Recreation Commission has recently made it a city priority. . The city does not currently have a public gym, although it rents a gym from the Cubberley Community Center in the Palo Alton United School District.

A report released by the city on Thursday identifies Arrillaga for the first time as a funder who suggested participating in the project last December. It also makes it clear that if the city were to accept the gift, it would have to follow Arrillaga’s rules. This means that Arrillaga will be involved in the basic design of the new gym and the design of the footprint and the abandonment of the typical construction tender procedure for Arrillaga’s pre-selected contractor.

The city would also have to pay about $ 10 million for the project, and Arrillaga would pay the rest of the bill for a two-story “wellness center,” which is estimated to cost $ 35-40 million.

The proposed gym somehow goes beyond the facility planned by the Park and Recreation Commission, which was estimated to cost about $ 25 million, according to an analysis by the Commission’s ad hoc committee. In its recommendation, the Commission called for a three-field gym to accommodate a variety of sports, including basketball, volleyball, pickle, indoor football, badminton and table tennis. There would also be exercise facilities for classes and smaller meeting rooms.

Jeff LaMere, a park commissioner who served on the ad hoc committee, said at a hearing on the project in November that the gym could be “an anchor for health and well-being for this community.”

Tom DuBois, a member of Palo Alto City Council who spoke to Arrillaga about his offer in December, said the donor’s proposal was very much in line with that vision. The new report states that the two-level design now proposed by Arrillaga “would allow the inclusion of a number of other free uses so that the facility could be described as a” wellness center “and not just a gym.”

Arrillaga is known for both its philanthropy and its pragmatic approach to the projects it funds. He was a major private donor to Menlo Park’s public gym opened at the city’s Civic Center in 2010, and is known for his participation in numerous sports facilities at Stanford University, many of which bear his name.

However, his pragmatic approach has not always found popularity in Palo Alto. In 2012, Arrillaga had proposed a project at 27 University Ave. that included four office towers and a theater. The proposal, which was presented and developed behind closed doors, exploded when it became public, and many residents blamed the city for its lack of transparency. This view was also reflected in the crushing 2014 report From the Grand Jury of Santa Clara County, entitled “The actions of the city of Palo Alto reduced transparency and prevented public input and scrutiny on important land issues.”

The city tried to avoid the same problem this time by immediately announcing Arrillaga’s offer, even though his identity was only revealed this week. However, the city’s new report makes it clear that the donor has little patience for the city’s typically lengthy approval and planning process. The report states that Arrillaga has “expressed a strong desire for the project to move forward quickly”.

“This would likely require speeding up the choice of priority location, which would then be assessed in detail in parallel with the environmental review and community involvement in the programming priority,” the report states. “Similarly, consideration could be given to speeding up design and other approvals, possibly with a view to starting construction next year.”

The board will discuss the proposed gym at its meeting on January 31st. If it decides to play ball with Arrillaga, it will have to identify $ 10 million from the city’s coffers to fund the project, as well as ways to pay for consultants, utilities, and furniture.

The gym would likely compete for funding with other infrastructure projects being built by the city, including a new skate park, improvements to the city’s animal shelter, new dog parks and park toilets, and a historic museum on Homer Avenue.