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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]how much money is needed to still be raised for Wisconsin Ave. campus project? [/quote]

$40 - 70 million for construction.  And that amount won't be offset by the sale of the MacArthur campus, which is unlikely to cover the $40 million already spent for land acquisition (financed by debt).  Judging from the last publicly available 990, prior to that purchase, GDs had about $29 million in outstanding bond debt (from the 2005 HS renovations, I'd guess).

There's a big difference between spending a $20 million gift (money pledged by 2 donors) to add a new middle school and trying to raise 3-5x that much to rebuild programs and facilities you already have on a smaller footprint.   [/quote]

That's a lot of debt for a school to get into. They will need to increase enrollment to service future debt payments. 
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How will they do that when the consolidated campus space appears to be tight, using current enrollment numbers? Don't you think that the revenue stream from "GDS Towers" (or a lump sum if GDS sells its project interest) will go to service and reduce the debt?[/quote]

No one has said GDS will have an equity stake in the mixed-use project -- just a land lease.  And we've been told the revenue stream from that will go to financial aid and preventing/minimizing increases in the cost of tuition.

And if the land is to be sold, then why did GDS buy it in the first place?  Land speculation isn't really part of a PreK-12 school's mission.  GDS purchased the property for more than any developer was willing to pay ($11.7 million), took on debt to acquire it, and is apparently willing to cover the costs of the PUD (upzoning process).  So add a few years of interest, property taxes, and predevelopment costs to the purchase price to get a sense of what the school would have to recoup just to break even on this deal.

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