Housing
A West Contra Costa Unified School District advisory committee toured two long-vacant school properties Monday evening before hearing new information about zoning changes that could significantly alter the value and development potential of both sites, then voted to table action.
The WCCUSD 7-11 Committee, a citizen panel charged with recommending what the district should do with four shuttered school sites, walked the former Adams Middle School property in East Richmond and the former Portola Middle School site in El Cerrito before convening at Serra Campus to take up formal recommendations.
Members of the WCCUSD 7-11 Committee tour the former Adams Middle School site in East Richmond on Monday, June 22, 2026.
The committee has been meeting since early 2024 to develop a report on four district properties no longer used. Monday's session took up the Adams and Portola sites. The Harmon Knolls and Seaview properties are scheduled for future meetings.
Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia joined the Adams tour and later addressed the committee, telling members the county has updated its general plan and zoning for the site since the committee did its initial analysis two years ago.
The Adams site, on Patterson Circle in unincorporated Contra Costa County east of Richmond, had previously been evaluated under assumptions of roughly six units per acre, producing an estimate of about 36 homes and an appraised value of $6 million to $8.6 million. Gioia told the committee the site is now zoned for 10 to 30 units per acre and allows mixed-use development, including neighborhood-serving commercial uses, making it likely more valuable than earlier estimates.
Several committee members noted the property appraisals are now roughly two years old and called for updated figures before any final recommendations are made.
The site tour gave newer committee members their first look at the property, and according to the committee's own records, the damage goes deeper than what is visible from outside. The buildings have been severely vandalized, with most or all of the wiring and plumbing stripped out. At a previous meeting, Chair Jim Sanders said the buildings are no longer structurally sound. Committee members were told they could not enter the buildings during the tour for liability reasons.
Today, broken and boarded-up windows line the facades of Adam's school building. Piles of chairs appear to have been tossed from inside. Broken glass lay shattered on the ground below the windows. Ivy crawls up the exterior walls. In several places, the buildings show signs of forced entry.
The committee discussed whether demolition costs, which would be elevated by the presence of asbestos and lead-based paint, should be factored into any updated appraisal.
Neighbors who attended public comment pushed back on a straightforward sale to market-rate developers, urging the committee instead to pursue workforce housing for district employees, incorporate green space and community amenities, and engage more actively with surrounding residents.
Committee members echoed those concerns, with several saying the existing recommendations are too vague and that the district should issue a detailed request for proposals with clear parameters rather than simply offering the land to the open market.
The committee voted to table the Adams discussion until the next meeting.
The Portola site drew its own cluster of stakeholders. Dawn Kooyumjian, coordinator of the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County, told the committee that her volunteers have been operating a water conservation garden on a portion of the site and have contributed more than 33,000 hours of volunteer time, valued at over $1 million, in service to Contra Costa residents.
Sarah Butler, a member of the Contra Costa County Board of Education, noted that Invictus Academy of Richmond, a charter school the county board authorizes, currently occupies land adjacent to the lower Portola site under a three-year facilities use agreement with WCCUSD, with two years remaining. She noted the long-term situation depends on factors the district controls. The committee ran out of time on Portola and tabled action there as well.
The committee set its next meeting for Monday, July 6. Members said they expected a legal presentation on recent state legislation governing surplus school property and workforce housing, updated enrollment data, and fresh property appraisals before the committee finalizes any recommendations.
The committee still needs to confirm recommendations for the Harmon Knolls and Seaview sites before it can publish its draft report and schedule a public hearing. That report ultimately goes to the WCCUSD Board of Education, which makes the final decisions on whether to declare the properties surplus and how to dispose of them.
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