COLLEGE AREA —
College Area residents who were hoping to resurrect a long-stalled retail and student housing complex at the southern edge of San Diego State University got more than they bargained for.
OVERVIEW
Background: Many College Area residents have long been waiting for a housing and commercial development near San Diego State University to replace the proposed Paseo project that was never built.
What's changing: SDSU recently unveiled a smaller project to replace Paseo, dubbing it Plaza Linda Verde. Meanwhile, the city's Redevelopment Agency last week took steps to solicit developers for a separate – and larger – commercial and housing development on some of the same land.
The future: SDSU is taking its proposal to the community for feedback. The university will make a presentation of its project to the College Area Community Council at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Faith Presbyterian Church, 5075 Campanile Drive. SDSU hopes to break ground in 2011.
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Two proposals.
SDSU two weeks ago unveiled Plaza Linda Verde to replace the Paseo project, a Horton Plaza-style urban village that was to combine housing for 1,400 students with retail space, theaters and parking. A week later, the San Diego Redevelopment Agency took steps to solicit developers for a separate – and larger – commercial and housing development on some of the same land.
Plaza Linda Verde is a scaled-back version of the Paseo and would be built in two phases. The first phase would involve apartments for 600 to 700 upper-division students and 45,000 square feet of retail that would include a grocery store such as Trader Joe's and a chain restaurant like Chili's. It would be on property owned by the SDSU Research Foundation on the west side of College Avenue, from Montezuma Road north to the campus transit center.
Construction would begin in 2011 and be completed by 2013.
The second phase, which has no established timeline, would include apartments for 600 upper-division students and 45,000 square feet of retail space. It would be located along the east side of College Avenue from Montezuma Road north to the campus, site of several small businesses such asan Arco station, Starbucks and Domino's Pizza. Part of the second phase would be on the west side of Campanile Drive, from Montezuma Road north to Lindo Paseo.
The foundation owns some of the land. The rest is privately owned, but university officials say they will seek to acquire property only from willing sellers.
The Redevelopment Agency's private-sector project includes much of the same property in SDSU's plan, and a similar but larger development. Its boundaries are Montezuma Road to the south, SDSU campus boundaries to the east, Aztec Walk to the north and Campanile Drive to the west.
Janice Weinrick, deputy executive director of the Redevelopment Agency, said there is no established timeline, cost estimate or details on the type of retail or amount of housing planned yet. That will depend on the developer, she said.
SDSU spokesman Jack Beresford said, “We welcome the city's initiatives to pursue a development in the College Area, but believe that Plaza Linda Verde is the best and fastest way to accomplish what has been shared goals by the university, the city and College Area neighbors.”
Beresford said the city's project probably would result in buying some private property through eminent domain, while the university's would not.
Weinrick said eminent domain would be a last resort. She also said the housing proposed in the redevelopment project would generate local property tax revenue, unlike the university's proposal, and that she hopes SDSU will want to be a partner in the redevelopment project.
“They may very well be interested in teaming up with a team of private developers,” Weinrick said. “That would be the best of both worlds.”
The university and its foundation own about half of the land in the Redevelopment Agency's proposal, she said.
The College Area Community Council has not taken a position on Plaza Linda Verde. Doug Case, chairman of the council, said he had just learned of the city's proposal.
The university will make a presentation of its project to the Community Council at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Faith Presbyterian Church on Campanile Drive.
Case said he likes many aspects of the university's proposal. Adequate student housing near campus has been a major community issue, and retail is sorely needed, he said.
“There aren't any stores within walking distance of the university and no sit-down restaurants,” he said.
Case also supports the university's commitment to use green building principles.
However, he is concerned that on-site parking has been planned only for the retail side.
Lauren Cooper, SDSU's interim director of facilities planning, said the university may not be able to afford on-site parking for the student housing. Alternatives are being explored, such as utilizing nearby on-campus lots.
Another concern is that this project would go to the California State University trustees for approval, rather than a local government body.
“The Planning Commission or Redevelopment Agency or City Council tend to be more receptive to the community's concerns,” Case said. “The CSU trustees are not accountable to the local community, and their track record is not one of listening to the community when certifying environmental impact reports. The expertise of the trustees is educational policy, not land use.”
Resident Cathleen Kenney also is ambivalent about Plaza Linda Verde.
“Right off the bat, I can't say it would be a bad thing,” she said. “It provides housing. I'd love to see that corner (Montezuma and College) cleaned up and looking more modern.”
But Kenney is also concerned about whether the university would provide adequate parking.
“The mind-set of the school has been 'expand, expand, expand' without really thinking it out as to the surrounding area,” she said. “It's a congested corner anyway, and 45,000 square feet sounds like a lot of retail space. Right now, the parking situation for the students creates chaos on College as it goes down to (Interstate) 8.”
Resident Norma Huhn is skeptical about the entire project. She says she believes SDSU won't provide the public works improvements needed and that Cal State trustees will rubber-stamp it, as she says occurred with a recent expansion plan.
CSU trustees authorized an SDSU expansion in November that involved increasing enrollment by nearly 10,000 students by 2025 and building student housing, a conference center, hotel, classrooms, offices, labs, and staff and faculty housing. Four lawsuits have tied up the project in court.
Cooper said SDSU representatives will meet with community groups to determine their concerns and the type of retail they want for the rest of the development.
University officials say the project is less than half the size of the Paseo, and the first phase is entirely on foundation-owned land.
“It's something we can move forward with immediately,” Beresford said. “The previous project required acquiring property to be completed, and the property had unwilling sellers. Also, this one would not be a redevelopment project, and for us that means we have the ability to move more quickly and directly. There's not as many legal hurdles.”
The Paseo project was set to break ground in 2005, but lost political support after SDSU officials took over the $350 million development. The city had advocated that private developers, not government, build it.
The first phase of Plaza Linda Verde would cost $150 million to $175 million and would be financed through Cal State systemwide revenue bonds, which would be paid back through rents from retail and housing. There is no cost estimate on the second phase.
Sherry Saavedra: (619) 542-4598; sherry.saavedra@uniontrib.com
