Musick Peeler Attorneys Advise on $90 Million School Construction Project
The deal provides for the construction of public, college-prep boarding school in Los Angeles County.
Musick Peeler attorneys advised and represented The SEED School of Los Angeles County, the first public, college-prep boarding school in California.
The financing closed on behalf of The SEED School of Los Angeles County included loans from a commercial bank, four community development financial institutions, and four New Markets Tax Credit qualified community development entities for the construction and development of a boarding school on county-leased land. The school is the result of an innovative partnership among Los Angeles County, LA Metro, and SEED LA.
The negotiations on SEED LA’s behalf were led by Musick Peeler’s multi-disciplinary, multi-office Charter School team that includes Partners Brian L. Holman and Jane Usher in Los Angeles and Rosemary K. Nunn and Chet A. Cramin in Orange County. Holman led the review and negotiation of the loan and financing agreements. Usher advised the principals and their lenders on the City of Los Angeles regulatory approvals and will continue to provide strategic solutions in the continuing California Environmental Quality Act matters. Nunn oversaw several months’ worth of construction contract drafting and negotiation. Cramin took the lead on finalizing the lease and development rights with the County of Los Angeles as well as related agreements with an adjacent developer that will be part of the overall project.
“This included a Project Labor Agreement, a preferential hire requirement and prevailing wage requirements,” explained Nunn. “That’s in addition to multiple requirements from lenders situated across the county and robust negotiations between the owner and the architect/contractors.”
Holman, who has represented charter schools or other parties in transactions involving more than $1 billion in loans to school facility owners, estimates that total construction costs for the project exceed $94 million. “To my knowledge, this is one of the largest single site charter school construction projects ever undertaken in Los Angeles County and the first such project to include a boarding school component,” Holman said.
SEED LA is poised to be the fourth in a network of public boarding schools supported by The SEED Foundation: The SEED School of Washington, D.C., The SEED School of Maryland, and The SEED School of Miami. SEED LA serves youth who would benefit most from a 24-hour learning environment.
About Musick Peeler
Founded in 1954, Musick Peeler has offices in five commercial centers across California with over 100 attorneys practicing in 16 disciplines. For more information, visit MusickPeeler.com.