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For more than 20 years, Cedars International Academy has been a cornerstone of public education in Austin, serving generations of families through a rigorous, project-based learning model rooted in community, creativity, and opportunity. Like many high-performing charter schools, Cedars’ greatest challenge wasn’t academic—it was securing a permanent, affordable facility that could support long-term growth.

That challenge is now being solved.

Last November, Blueprint completed a transformative financing and development transaction that set Cedars on a path toward a consolidated, purpose-built K–12 campus. Today, Blueprint is actively managing the project, ensuring the campus is delivered on schedule and ready to welcome students for the 2026–2027 school year.

A Campus Designed for Students—and for the Future

The new Cedars campus is located in Austin in a former charter school building already approved for K–12 educational use. Because the building was recently renovated and fully conditioned for school operations, it is largely move-in ready, requiring only minor improvements before occupancy.

The site offers everything Cedars needs to grow and thrive:

• 51,430 square feet on 7.26 acres
• Approximately 40 classrooms, including large learning spaces and science labs
• A cafeteria and full commercial kitchen
• 400+ parking spaces supporting staff, families, and community events
• A 4,400-square-foot playground with additional outdoor space
• Administrative offices, health facilities, and ample storage

Most importantly, the campus provides Cedars with the capacity to grow toward its charter maximum of 1,000 students, while fully supporting its collaborative, project-based learning model.

Blueprint’s Role: Development, Financing, and Project Management

Blueprint is serving as developer, owner, and project manager for the Cedars campus—guiding the project from acquisition through financing, improvements, and delivery. This integrated role allows Blueprint to align real estate decisions directly with Cedars’ educational goals, while maintaining tight control over costs, timeline, and quality.

In partnership with Equitable Facilities Fund (EFF), Blueprint secured below-market financing to acquire the building on Cedars’ behalf. The structure is intentionally school-centered: Cedars will lease the facility at cost, with no markups or escalations, and retains the option to purchase the building within five years at the original price.

Over the first five years, this approach is expected to save Cedars approximately $2.5 million—resources that stay focused on classrooms, educators, and student programs rather than real estate overhead.

Managing the Path to a 2026–2027 Opening

Because the building already meets educational occupancy standards, the scope of work is limited and highly targeted. As project manager, Blueprint is overseeing final improvements—including site enhancements and perimeter fencing—to ensure the campus is fully ready for students and staff on schedule.

The project timeline is carefully structured to support a smooth transition, with construction and final preparations concluding well ahead of the 2026–2027 school year. This approach minimizes disruption for Cedars families and staff while delivering a permanent home that supports long-term stability.

Why This Project Matters

Cedars International Academy serves a student population that is over 80% economically disadvantaged, with a strong academic record and a recently renewed 10-year charter. Bringing its lower school and high school together onto a single campus allows Cedars to operate more efficiently, expand career-connected learning, and deepen partnerships that prepare students for college and the workforce.

For Blueprint, the Cedars project demonstrates what’s possible when nonprofit development, innovative financing, and thoughtful project management come together. By removing facilities barriers, Blueprint helps high-quality charter schools focus on what they do best: educating students and strengthening communities.

As Cedars prepares to open the doors to its new campus, this project stands as a model for how equitable, mission-driven real estate development can create lasting impact—on time, on budget, and centered on students.

After 15 years of relocating across Alameda County, Yu Ming Charter School is celebrating a significant milestone in our facilities journey this year. We now own two more permanent campuses that will serve our community for generations to come.

Since our founding in 2010 as California’s first dual-immersion Mandarin charter school, finding stable facilities has been our greatest challenge. Even as we earned multiple National Blue Ribbon and California Distinguished School honors, ranking in the top 1% of California public schools across student demographics, we have had to move students no fewer than ten times in 15 years. Each relocation disrupted commutes for hundreds of families traveling from 37 cities across four counties.

This year marks the beginning of a more stable chapter. With the purchases of our Adeline campus, a former school site in Oakland, and our Carolyn campus, a former church property, we are finally able to set deeper roots in the communities we serve. While we still need one last permanent site, these campuses mean that our students are no longer in borrowed space and that we can continue planning for the future with more confidence.

We deeply appreciate the ongoing partnership with Blueprint, our non-profit real estate partner, who has stood with us since 2018. Blueprint helped guide negotiations on both property purchases and navigate a complex process we could never have managed alone. They saved us countless hours and allowed us to stay focused on what we do best: serving students well.

The demand for our program has remained high over the years, with approximately 2.5 applicants per kindergarten seat and over 1,000 students enrolled this school year. As students move through grades each year, this added capacity is an investment in our ability to ensure reliable, continuous access to a rich TK-8 Mandarin immersion education for students across Alameda County, including those from historically underserved communities who have often faced barriers to high-quality schooling.

Ultimately, these campuses are a direct continuation of the whole-child, global citizens education we offer to students and families across the county. They strengthen our mission by creating permanent environments where all students can flourish socially, emotionally, and academically. After years of instability, these campuses give us a stronger foundation to focus on what matters most: educating the multilingual global citizens who will build a better tomorrow.

Author’s Note

This blog is written by Emily Wood, COO, Yu Ming Charter School. Emily is a former Head of School and longtime educator, she brings deep experience in school operations, personalized learning, and whole-child education. Emily is passionate about creating stable, student-centered environments where children can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.

Photography by Jerry Yoon Photographers

For the second year in a row, I had the great fortune of leading high school students from Summit Atlas in Seattle, Washington, as they stepped into the shoes of real estate professionals and tackled the complex realities of urban redevelopment through the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) prestigious Urban Plan exercise.

Over an intensive two-week workshop, guided by instructors including Lori Summers, Ray Dubicki, Terry Galiney, Doug Larson, and many others, students took on professional roles such as neighborhood liaison, marketing manager, financial advisor, sustainability lead, and planning director. Working in teams, they developed redevelopment proposals for the fictional City of Yorktown.

The students were also fortunate to learn from industry leaders, including John Ales from the University of Washington’s Runstad Center for Real Estate and Caroline Herre of the Seattle Housing Authority. Site visits to Seattle’s High Point and Yesler Terrace neighborhoods allowed students to connect classroom learning with real-world redevelopment challenges and opportunities.

The program culminated with student teams presenting their innovative visions for the Elmwood neighborhood to a “City Council” composed of ULI industry volunteers. The creativity, professionalism, and thoughtfulness on display were truly inspiring.

I am deeply grateful to the Urban Land Institute (ULI) for developing this impactful simulation program, to Summit Atlas for providing these vital experiential learning opportunities, and to the many dedicated industry professionals who volunteered their time to mentor and support these students.

The experience clearly sparked interest in real estate and urban development careers among many participants. The future of our cities is in excellent hands.

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Author’s Note

This blog is written by Blueprint’s Washington Executive Director, James Heugas, who led the Urban Plan program and worked closely with students, educators, and industry partners throughout the experience.