When I arrived at tonights Rolando Community Council meeting this evening the hall was already packed. Wow, how cool to see such a turnout! I wish we could get this much participation in future RCC meetings. A representative from JPI, pictured below, presented a slide show of their preliminary proposal for the Centrepoint project. I asked a JPI representative for a digital copy of the slide show but she said it was too big to send via email. When I pressed and asked if I could have a copy of it on CD she indicated in so many words that she didn’t think she could give it to me. I don’t see the harm in giving our community the information we need to make informed decisions. JPI was kind enough to provide a printed FAQ, and a contact number. Contact the JPI team at (619) 540-0427.
The following text was taken directly from that FAQ. I am posting it here in the interest of informing our community and fostering civil dialog. I extracted the text using OCR and tried to fix any errors the process may have introduced. To see it in its original format download this PDF of the JPI at Centrepoint FAQ. If you are a concerned community member please register at RolandoVillage.com and add your comments and questions to this post. Any comments deemed inappropriate will not be published.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are you building student housing at this particular location?
The need for off-campus student housing in this area will grow as San Diego State University (SDSU) is planning an increase of 10,000 students over the next 20 years. Currently there are at least 2,100 students living off campus within the Community College and Eastern Area planning areas, with the vast majority of these students living in single family homes. Centrepoint is a prime location for student housing, its location within 1 mile of SDSU therefore providing partial alleviation to the “mini dorm” problem.
Are there other student apartments nearby?
Yes, professionally managed student apartment properties near Centrepoint include Aztec Corners, The Plaza, Penthouse, Dorchester and Diplomat.
How many residents will live at Centrepoint?
JPI is proposing to provide fully furnished apartment homes for 1,130 residents.
What will the rooms be like?
Each apartment home will contain a full kitchen, full-size washer and dryer, cable and phone services, and high-speed Internet connections in every bedroom and living room. In addition, Centrepoint will have 7,765 square feet of residential amenities including a swimming pool, clubhouse, and fitness center, along with management and leasing offices.
What type of retail will be provided?
The 16,000 square feet of new retail space will consist of neighborhood-serving commercial uses.
How will traffic be affected by this use?
The project fronts onto EI Cajon Blvd. - a transportation corridor with bus transit - and is in close proximity to SDSU, allowing students to bike and walk to the university.
Why does your website say you “lease by the bed”?
Unlike many other student-oriented housing facilities, JPI leases by the person and not by the unit. All leases must have a guarantor, usually a parent and there is an enforced code of conduct policy attached to each lease. Additionally, all apartment homes are professionally managed with approximately 10 full-time, onsite employees.
What are the economic benefits to the community?
Along with providing a significant redevelopment opportunity for EI Cajon Blvd., JPI will contribute $2 million to the city during development. JPI will not be taking redevelopment funds, meaning the $5.2 million subSidy available from the redevelopment district will stay in the community and can be used for infrastructure improvements. In addition, the project will contribute over $1 million in annual property taxes to remain in the neighborhood and facilitate a projected $3.5 million annual operating budget requiring over 80 local vendors.
How much parking will be provided?
We are increasing parking over the currently approved project by over 300 parking spaces, with 974 total spaces. In order to accommodate this number of parking spaces, JPI Centrepoint will provide an interior parking structure and surface parking, making parking easily accessible for residents and retail customers alike while being hidden from exterior view.
How tall will the building be?
The retail space will be at street level along EI Cajon Boulevard, with three stories of residential above. The buildings directly fronting on 63rd Street, Stanley Avenue and Seminole Drive will all be three story flats located 10 feet from the property line. All four story elements of the proposed project that face residential streets will be pulled back 40 feet or more, most with a landscaped courtyard.
Will there be a parking spot for every resident to avoid students parking on the street?
We are only required, by city code, to provide 811 parking spaces, but are providing 974 spaces - a 163 parking space surplus. JPI is electing to provide this additional parking because its market studies show this is a more prudent level of parking based upon market demand.
Will existing residents need to purchase street parking permits?
No, parking permits are not a part of our plan. We will work with the community and city if the local residents would like street parking permits.
How will noise be managed?
Twenty-four hour on-site management supervises the premises at all times. All residents and their guarantors sign a code of conduct with their lease. After two noise warnings a lease can be terminated.
Who is JPI and how long have they been in the student housing business?
JPI is headquartered in Irving, Texas with a local office in Carlsbad. Throughout California, JPI has developed or renovated 23 communities. JPI Student Living - a division of JPI - has successfully developed over 35 student housing communities nationwide, serving 24,000 students. They have also acquired and renovated 10 communities serving 7,000 students. In addition, JPI Property Management also manages student housing for other owners in 9 states, manages apartment housing for college campuses’ on-campus housing, as well as manages 20,000 apartment units in 19 states for California-based pension fund advisor.
For over 10 years, they have provided a broad range of services from design, development, renovation and financing to construction, property management and Residence Life programs.
Our community members had so many good comments and questions I can’t begin remember all of them. Please feel free to repeat them here (if you weren’t heard now is your chance) by registering at RolandoVillage.com and adding your comments to this post.
Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I was not impressed with JPI’s presentation nor was I “comforted” by their plans for our community. A mega dorm is the last thing Rolando Village needs and the unrealistically rosy picture that was presented was an insult to our intelligence. For example, it became painfully obvious that the number of parking spaces being planned were inadequate–not only were there not enough spaces for residents–no provisions were being made to provide spaces for guests. I went away from this meeting even more opposed to this project than before. JPI attempted to dazzle us with fancy graphics and promises of tax revenue, but at least from the responses I heard–no one was being fooled. The question I have is how do we stop them. This should not be treated as a done deal–the only “process I am interested in participating in–is the process that convinces JPI to abandon this project.
Can anyone from JPI confirm or deny that JPI’s preliminary plan has the height of the student parking structure set at 70 feet? A seventy foot structure would cast a shadow for three blocks. Responses from any JPI representative or anyone with access to the preliminary proposal would be greatly appreciated. Did I miss this part of the presentation or did they neglect to mention the towering structure?
I’d prefer to not voice my opinion about the project, being a Realtor and a part of the Board of the RCC, but I was quite embarassed by the rude behavior of a small minority of people in the crowd. I believe that everyone who wished to speak was allowed to speak on both sides of the debate, and there was no real need to shout out from the crowd when all it did was take away time from the speakers, especially those who took the time to fill out the speaker’s slips that were provided and were available throughout the meeting.
I’d also like to clarify the accusations of the Bait and Switch. If the Real Estate market in this state had not taken a turn for the worse, Douglas Wilson would be building condos as I write this. They are in the business to make money and if they thought they could do that, they’d be going ahead with the project.
If you really want to blame someone, maybe the lenders who were loaning money to anyone with a pulse during out so-called real estate boom should be looked at quite carefully.
Does anyone know if a seven story building was propsed with the Douglas Wilson Project? Aren’t height limitations for residential development strictly enforced? Shouldn’t this be enough to kick the project out of “susbstantial conformence” review and into the full environmental reveiw process?
I too was embarassed by the heckling, that was inappropriate behavior.
As Doug mentioned if the market hadn’t tanked we would have had condos. People have to be realistic here - no one is going to build condos they can’t sell.
That said - this development has too many beds and the density is too high. There is not enough parking. I am not opposed to students or student housing per se - but what becomes of this building should JPI decide to get out of the market in Rolando? He used the Plaza across the street as an example - too bad that place hasn’t been repainted in about 20 years!
After talking with University officials, I learned that the college area will be built high density no matter what; at least for University owned property. They have deeded the titles of their developments to the state in order to get around zoning restrictions. This means they can build as many units, as high as they wish. The projects around the University are going to almost mirror the height of the current dorms, however they will be mixed use projects to add new retail. The state budget cuts are making the university increase enrollments, in turn forcing the university to build more housing in what is known as one of the largest universities in the nation, with the least amount of land. The auxiliary organizations of SDSU, Aztec shops and SDSU foundation, continue to look for student housing investments in the area. Point is, no matter which way we go, it looks like student housing will and needs to be built not only for redevelopment purposes, but for economic stability.
We as a community centered around one of the largest universities in the nation have to look at the big picture. The university is growing, americans are using alternative transportation - meaning seeking to stay around the university or in close proximity to where they work, and the college area needs a major facelift. The question shouldn’t be how do we stop this, because we won’t be able to. What we do need to do is to start looking at how do we shape these developments to bring positive growth to the area. Partying and overcrowding can be contained but near one of the largest universities, the fact is it cannot be completely stopped. As community leaders lets come together and figure out how to develop this community to accommodate the actual growth needs, for the good of the community. If we don’t support area growth and increasing the number of beds through high density mixed use developments, transportation will get worse - more commuters = more need for parking, more traffic and more harm to the environment.
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