REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS for commercial real estate brokerage services.

Location:	California
Posted:	Sep 2, 2026
Due:	Sep 25, 2026
Agency:	Newark Unified School District
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	R - Professional, Administrative and Management Support Services
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

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NEWARK UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

Alameda County, California

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

for commercial real estate brokerage services related to the Snow school site and other

district-owned surplus and underutilized properties

Issued: September 2, 2026

OVERVIEW

Context

The Newark Unified School District (NUSD), in Alameda County, is a K-12 public school district serving

approximately 4,500 students across 10 schools. Like many Bay Area districts, NUSD holds a portfolio of

school sites and other real property whose highest and best use no longer always aligns with current

enrollment and facilities needs.

NUSD is beginning the process of evaluating its real estate options. We are primarily interested in

identifying a developer to lease or, potentially buy, a closed school site (Snow Elementary) a 10 acre site

located at 6580 Mirabeau Drive in Newark, CA. This engagement will begin with the Snow site, but the

scope of work could expand over time to include other properties, potentially including the Musick campus

(10 acres) and the McGregor campus (19 acres), should the district determine that all or part of those sites

are similarly appropriate for third-party development, lease, or disposition.

The district is likely to be most interested in structuring a long-term ground lease for these properties,

rather than an outright sale, in order to preserve long-term optionality and a revenue stream for the

district. That said, NUSD is conceptually open to a sale where a broker can demonstrate that a sale

transaction would better serve the district's interests.

Any transaction will need to account for various California laws around the use of school district property.

The District anticipates that they will manage those aspects of this directly; the District is looking for a real

estate expert who can liaise with commercial real estate developers.

Desired Goals of the Engagement

NUSD has two goals in retaining a broker for this work. First, the district is seeking an experienced partner

to help evaluate the highest and best use of the Snow site, and to structure and run a competitive process

— whether a ground lease or a sale — that maximizes value and minimizes risk to the district. This is

important both because of the financial magnitude of any resulting transaction and because the district

will ultimately need to bring any agreement to the NUSD Board of Education for approval in a manner that

withstands public scrutiny.

Second, the district is looking for a long-term real estate partner — not simply a transaction broker for a

single deal. As the district continues to evaluate its broader facilities portfolio, we are interested in working

with a broker who can grow with us, and who can advise on future opportunities at sites such as Musick

and McGregor as those conversations develop.

Proposed Approach

NUSD is open to multiple approaches to this engagement, and expects to work collaboratively with the

selected broker to refine the scope of work over time. At a minimum, the district expects the engagement

to include:

● Market and highest-and-best-use analysis for the Snow site;

● Advice on ground lease versus sale structures, including comparable transactions with other Bay

Area public agencies and school districts;

● Support in running a competitive marketing and solicitation process;

● Negotiation support through to a final agreement, in coordination with district counsel, for

consideration by the NUSD Board of Education;

● Project entitlements and other aspects of public approvals through the site breaking ground.

The district recognizes that this is likely to be a multi-year relationship with no single, clearly defined end

point, beginning with the Snow site and potentially extending to other properties. We are curious how

proposers think about structuring a long-term brokerage relationship of this kind, and are open to

discussing this further with finalists.

BROKER QUALIFICATIONS

NUSD is looking for a broker or brokerage team that has:

● Substantial experience with large commercial real estate transactions, including ground leases, and

a significant, established presence across the Bay Area;

● A fee structure based on successful completion of a transaction (e.g., a percentage of transaction

or lease value), rather than hourly billing;

● Direct experience working with public agencies — preferably school districts, and preferably within

the San Francisco Bay Area — including familiarity with the public approval processes,

transparency requirements, and statutory constraints (such as the Surplus Land Act) that apply to

public-agency real estate transactions.

PROPOSALS

Rather than a lengthy technical and financial proposal, NUSD is asking interested brokers to submit a short

introductory letter, of two pages or less, that addresses the following two items:

1. Team and Qualifications

Please introduce your team, and specifically identify who at your firm we would be working with closely on

a day-to-day basis. Please describe that individual's (and, as relevant, your firm's) qualifications, including

relevant experience with large commercial transactions, ground leases, and public agency or school district

clients in the Bay Area.

2. Proposed Fee Structure

Please outline your proposed fee structure for this engagement, consistent with the district's preference

for success-based (rather than hourly) compensation, and note whether your proposed structure would

vary depending on whether the district ultimately pursues a ground lease or a sale.

We are treating this letter as a starting point for a conversation, not a final, binding proposal, and expect

the scope and terms of any resulting engagement to be refined together with the selected broker.

SUBMISSION

The deadline to submit an introductory letter, as outlined above, is Friday, September 25, 2026, at 5:00pm

PT. Letters received after this deadline may be rejected as untimely.

Letters should be addressed and submitted electronically to:

Victoria Knutson , with a copy (CC) to Toya Lemus

Chief Business Officer

Newark Unified School District

vknutson@newarkunified.org

Toya Lemus

Administrative Assistant

Newark Unified School District

DLemus@newarkunified.org

TIMELINE AND CRITERIA

The district will review submitted letters and invite selected brokers to participate in an interview process.

From there, NUSD may select a broker with which to negotiate final engagement terms, before bringing an

agreement to the NUSD Board of Education for approval.

The district will evaluate all submissions, applying the following criteria, to determine which offer provides

the best value to the district:

● Does the firm have substantial experience with large commercial real estate transactions and a

significant Bay Area presence?

● Is the proposed fee structure cost effective for the district?

● Does the team have direct experience working with public agencies — ideally school districts, and

ideally in the Bay Area — including the public process and statutory requirements that come with

that work?

● Is the individual we would be working with day-to-day clearly identified, qualified, and well-suited

to a multi-year public-agency relationship?

The district retains the right to consider additional factors, to select any proposer or no proposer, and to

waive any minor irregularities in submissions.

Target Selection Schedule:

● Submission deadline: September 25, 2026

● Review: September 28 - October 2, 2026

● Response: October 5-9, 2026

● Board approval: October 20, 2026

The district will review all submitted letters and invite selected brokers to participate in the process. From

there, the district may select a broker with which to negotiate a contract scope of work and term, before

bringing the agreement to a Board of Education meeting on October 20, 2026.

INQUIRIES

All inquiries related to this Request for Proposals should be directed to:

Victoria Knutson

Chief Business Officer

Newark Unified School District

vknutson@newarkunified.org

This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS for commercial real estate brokerage services.

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