Planning filings and local reporting suggest the Julia Morgan School for Girls may be weighing a move from the Mills College campus into the Bellevue Club, the landmark clubhouse on Lake Merritt. The possible relocation, which would shift the small all-girls middle school from Northeastern's Oakland campus to 525 Bellevue Avenue, immediately raised questions about permits, historic review, and what a conversion could mean for students and neighbors. For now, the paperwork that set off the buzz has been recorded as withdrawn in city records.
How the tip came to light
According to Oaklandside, city planning documents identified the Julia Morgan School for Girls and outlined a proposal to convert 525 Bellevue Avenue into a school. The filings reportedly listed Gensler as the architect and described code upgrades and relatively minor construction instead of a major overhaul. Oaklandside found that those same filings were later marked as withdrawn in the city database.
What the property is and who owns it
The Bellevue Club building on Lake Merritt is a storied early 20th century clubhouse that has attracted developer interest for years. Michael and Xochi Birch bought the property in 2021 for roughly $10 million, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. Local coverage has tracked the building's long history and high visibility in the Lakeside Park neighborhood. Because it anchors the Bellevue Staten historic district, new reuse ideas routinely spark public scrutiny and preservation debates.
Where Julia Morgan School stands now
Julia Morgan School for Girls is based on the Mills College campus, now part of Northeastern University, at 5000 MacArthur Boulevard in Oakland, where it has operated for roughly two decades, according to the school's website. Oaklandside reported that the school serves a small student body of about 75 students and that Northeastern told reporters it will continue to host Julia Morgan through the current lease term, which runs into 2029. For families, the practical concern is whether any move would be optional and how much advance notice they would get.
Why neighbors and preservationists are watching
The Bellevue Club sits among a cluster of Lake Merritt landmarks and has been the focus of multiple reuse pitches since its pandemic era closure, which has made nearby residents especially watchful when new plans surface. Coverage of the sale and later listings stirred concerns about how to protect the building's historic rooms and ballroom while adapting it to a new purpose. Any proposal that touches the club's exterior, public spaces, or historic fabric is likely to generate strong community feedback.
What converting a clubhouse into a school would require
Turning a private social club into an active school typically brings fresh reviews of building codes and occupancy limits, new accessibility and fire safety work, and traffic and parking studies tied to drop off and dismissal. Because the Bellevue Club sits in a preservation district, alterations would probably need sign off from Oakland's preservation bodies and could be reviewed by the Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board and the Planning Commission. Those steps include public notices and formal chances for neighbors and other stakeholders to weigh in before anything is approved.
Campus context and what is next
The possibility of a move comes as Mills adjusts to its integration with Northeastern, a process covered at the time by outlets including SFist. The campus has already seen program changes in recent years, including a suspension of new enrollments and a planned wind down of the Mills College Children’s School, which drew attention from KQED. Against that backdrop, it is not surprising that tenants and parents scrutinize any fresh city filings.
Bottom line
For now, the Julia Morgan School remains on the Mills campus and the Bellevue Club filings remain withdrawn. The brief scare still shows how quickly historic properties near Lake Merritt can become flashpoints when new uses are floated. If a new application appears, school leaders, the building's owners, and city planners will be key players to watch, and the public will have multiple formal chances to review and respond before any conversion can move ahead.
