Grace Christian Academy Pastor Michael Rodgers signs a new land lease contract as Special Adviser for Department of Public Lands David Sablan looks on in the DPL conference room on Friday.
Grace Christian Academy Pastor Michael Rodgers and Special Adviser for the Department of Public Lands David Sablan pose for a photo with GCA and DPL officials and staff after the signing of a new land lease agreement on Friday.
GRACE Christian Academy and the Department of Public Lands on Friday signed a new land lease deal for GCA’s 16,000-square-meter campus on Navy Hill.
A private Christian school founded in 1986, GCA currently has 200 students from kindergarten 4 to 12th grade.
Its new 40-year lease includes an option to apply for a 15-year extension as provided for in Public Law 20-84.
GCA will pay DPL a rent of $34,000 a year, which is 1.5% of the appraised fair market value of the property. The lease agreement also includes over $4 million worth of improvements to the property, and public benefits that include providing $500 scholarship to a student of Northern Marianas descent at the end of each school year.
GCA Pastor Michael Rodgers and Special Adviser for DPL David Sablan signed the lease agreement in DPL’s conference room at 8:30 a.m. Friday.
Joining Rodgers were GCA Principal Beth Nunez and other school officials. Also witnessing the signing were DPL real estate director Bonnie Royal, compliance division director Greg Deleon Guerrero, finance director Evelyn Sablan, and planning division director Pat Rasa.
On behalf of the Palacios-Apatang administration, DPL Secretary Teresita Santos, the NMDs and the entire DPL family, Sablan expressed his sincere appreciation to GCA “for being a valued lessee for the past 40 years.” The previous land lease contract under the old law was for 25 years with an option to extend for 15 years.
“[By] the same token we want to embrace and welcome GCA again for the next 55 years as it enters another commitment to execute a new lease with DPL. I am very sure that GCA’s commitment to this new lease signifies its commitment to continue investing its institution’s quality education in our community and most specially in our NMDs, the owners of the land,” Sablan said.
Rodgers, for his part, said: “I think we all can recognize [God] has been so good to us and everything that we, as a school and ministry, have done here on this island has been … for Him and in partnership of trying to reach all the people in the Marianas.”
The new land lease contract, he added, “gives us space as a ministry, [and] as a school to continue to grow.”
Rodgers also thanked the GCA board of directors and other campus and ministry leaders. “[Without] this group of wonderful people, there’s no way we could have done it, there’s no way any one person can do it. It takes a team. I thank God for all of these wonderful people, for allowing us to get to this moment today,” he said.
