March 9, 2007

Fresno Chamber Questions Educational Purpose of Campus Pointe Center

 

For the past three months, the Fresno Chamber’s Government Affairs Council (GAC) has taken an in-depth look at the Campus Pointe Center proposed just east of the Fresno State Campus.
 

The Fresno State campus is a public university with a mission of serving public educational needs, especially those of the local area. From our perspective, Campus Pointe does not accomplish this goal. According to the final environmental impact report (FEIR), Fresno State justifies Campus Pointe’s educational purpose by listing several partnership opportunities the development offers the University including, but not limited to:
 

- Allowing Fresno State to “use” the theatre facilities for classroom space
- Using the 180 units of senior housing as a study mechanism for the gerontology students
- Developing a hotel management program to utilize the 200 room hotel located at Campus Pointe.
 

These statements seem to justify the use of State-owned land for use by a private developer. It appears to the Chamber that the real purpose of the project is to generate income to pay down the debt for the Save Mart Center. Justification for the project in relation to the students, to our knowledge, was made after completion of the development design, rather than involving the educational benefits during the planning stages of the commercial development. This land should be held for higher educational purposes.

The Fresno Chamber has long been a supporter of CSU Fresno, and believes that we have established a strong relationship with them over the years. We believe that they have made significant contributions to our community including the quality of education programs they offer, their commitment to entrepreneurialism, their leadership in the Regional Jobs Initiative, and their support of agriculture and water technology. We are a great supporter of the students at CSU Fresno and believe that they deserve an educational experience that will prepare them for the future. We believe, though, that CSU Fresno has missed the mark on the proposed Campus Pointe Center.
 

In the Chamber’s opinion Campus Pointe is not an educational endeavor. To use State land designated for education for anything other than that, is not acceptable.
 

March 2006

Fresno Chamber Evaluates Economic Impact of Campus Pointe Center Project

 

Fresno State University seeks to build a Campus Pointe Center on the Clovis-Fresno border. Situated next to the Save Mart Center at Highway 168, Campus Pointe will include a 240-room hotel, 180 units of senior housing and 342 apartment units. It will also ultimately feature 160,000 square feet of retail space, even more office space, and a 2,700-seat movie theater. It is structured as a partnership between Fresno State and private investors. “More important than the funding details is that this expansion could provide a significant boost in the economic development of the surrounding community and Fresno as a city,” confirmed Ruth Evans, Chair of the Fresno Chamber Government Affairs Council.

Current Status

The University Association has sent out a notice of preparation to allow the public to know that they will begin writing an Environment Impact Report for the Campus Pointe Center, and are currently accepting all inquiries. The Clovis City Council City Manager has submitted a letter asking the University Association to include in their Environmental Impact Report a detailed description about the relationship shared between the developer and University Association. In the description they would like to know if the University Association is offering a preferred lease rate to the developer, and if it will be subsidized using state funds. The Council is concerned that if the University Association is offering a non-market competitive rate it will cause economic hardship on existing local businesses.

How will this affect local and existing businesses?

The land that will be used for the Campus Pointe Center is land that was donated or purchased by the taxpayer for educational purposes; however, allowing the public/private project to proceed under the name of a subsidiary or foundation is an unfair competitive advantage to existing businesses. The reason being is because the private businesses that have made a partnership with the university will sit on land that has already been paid for or donated, in turn allowing the new businesses possible lower lease rates, which is not market competitive with the existing local businesses. The surrounding business community will not receive those same advantages, and may lead to closure of other businesses in the area.

More importantly, the theatre that will be moving in to the Campus Pointe Center will negate the previous assessment made by Clovis officials that movie theaters require a five-mile buffer between locations to thrive; the mall’s theater and Campus Pointe’s future theatre will be less than three miles away. Many local businesses feel that Fresno State is biting the hand that feeds them by giving advantages to certain private businesses, while it has been supported by the entire business community for decades.
 

Contact Amy Huerta, the Chamber's Government Affairs Manager for more information at (559) 495-4818 or ahuerta@fresnochamber.com