SANTA ANA : School District Moves Headquarters Offices

The school district has moved its administrative offices and will convert its former headquarters into an elementary school.

About 400 employees of the Santa Ana Unified School District moved to 1601 E. Chestnut Ave. on Monday from offices at 1405 French St.

Mike Vail, senior director of facilities, said the main reason for the move was to allow the district to open an elementary school without having to condemn property. The new offices also will provide more space for employees, he said.

“Everything’s a little bit bigger,” Vail said. “There’s just a little more room.”

The new offices, for example, include six conference rooms, double the number in the former headquarters.

The old district offices were 89,000 square feet, Vail said, while the new ones take up 114,00 square feet.

Telephone numbers for employees at the new headquarters will not change.

The new district offices sit on seven of 18 acres purchased by the school district in 1990 for $20 million, Vail said. The cost to renovate the new buildings was $4.3 million, with most of the money coming from state building funds.

The other 11 acres will be used for the Raymond Villa Intermediate School. The school will cost $18 million to build and could open in early 1998. About 1,300 students are expected to attend the school.

The elementary school to be built at the French Street site has not yet been named. It is expected to open in early 1997, Vail said, and enroll about 900 students. The site will be remodeled at a cost of $4.7 million, he said.