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 The
Campus Pointe project at Fresno State will add much needed meeting
space, hotel rooms, multifamily housing for faculty, students and
workforce, and modestly scaled retail areas to support the university
community. This is an incredibly positive project for our university and
our community.
Here are the facts about the project:
It improves our campus:
To be able to attract the best faculty, students and staff, the
university is creating a new and attractive environment in which to
study, work and live. Fresno State is a positive force for change and
innovation in our community as it rapidly improves the campus’ academic
buildings, overall architecture and landscaping.
It adds educational opportunity:
Campus Pointe adds critically needed conference and meeting rooms. It
provides convenient housing for students and faculty. It provides jobs
for students and work experience and internship opportunities for
students studying business, hospitality, tourism, marketing and
gerontology to name a few. The theatre will provide overflow classroom
space. Campus Pointe will be convenient for Fresno State students and
their families coming to campus from throughout California and the
nation.
Bright, open plazas will create
new community
gathering places for students and
faculty.
It
improves our neighborhood:
Over the past several decades, the area surrounding the campus has
remained largely unchanged or has declined. Our alumni from the 1970s
and ‘80s would find massive changes on campus, but few changes in the
community immediately surrounding the campus. Fresno State is doing its
part to improve the campus experience for today’s students, which
reflects their desire for a vital, safe and appealing campus that offers
the amenities of other major universities across the country.
 Some
fail to see the positive economic, educational and aesthetic benefits
sparked by the 22,000-student campus located in their communities.
Campus Pointe is the kind of boost Valley residents want to see as the
Fresno State campus grows. It’s exactly the type of positive growth
desperately sought by cities that don’t already have a major university.
The land use plan for Campus Pointe is reasonably sized, meets students’
needs and will enhance the use of our campus. It will provide more
on-campus housing, which will reduce traffic and environmental impacts.
Fresno should lead, rather than find excuses:
The Campus Pointe project at Fresno State is similar to university
community projects already developed or being developed at major
universities throughout the country. Real-life examples can be found at
campuses such as UC Davis (Info, Project
Video), Temple University, Georgetown, the University of
Connecticut (Info),
and many other campuses. Why are these types of projects possible
elsewhere but impossible in Fresno or Clovis?
Fresno State’s leadership is finding ways to improve a great university
and a great university community. Fresno State is striving to provide
the highest quality educational services that address the needs of
Central California. To serve our rapidly changing region, we cannot
simply maintain the status quo; we have found creative ways to broaden
the capabilities of the university. Following in the footsteps of
similar projects undertaken at other major universities across the
country, Campus Pointe will enhance Fresno State and the Fresno and
Clovis communities, too.
Key facts:
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 Campus
Pointe project has been part of the university’s planning for many
years. Numerous meetings have been held over the past three years
with the cities of Fresno and Clovis and other local and state
agencies. To describe the development as “rushed” or “secret” is
simply wrong. Rather, the campus is creating an environment that
supports community involvement with housing, hotel and meeting spaces
more conveniently located away from the extremely busy academic core
of the campus.
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Campus Pointe will pay
its fair share of improvements needed to support the project, and
the university has been working closely with the cities of Fresno and
Clovis and the California Department of Transportation to that end.
The university was able to reach agreement with the City of Clovis and
the Department of Transportation prior to finalizing the Environmental
Impact Report (EIR); however, there are a few outstanding issues with
the City of Fresno. The Campus Pointe project is funding all of its
own utility, infrastructure and street improvements, totaling close to
$12 million. No state tax dollars are involved. Campus Pointe
is completely self supporting; it is not subsidized by the State of
California. It will pay property-related taxes, hotel taxes and other
assessments, just like any other development in Fresno and Clovis.
Improvements being made will not only serve the project, but they will
also improve traffic safety and other services that benefit
surrounding campus neighborhoods.
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The project’s EIR
addressed all applicable California Environmental Quality Act impacts.
University staff members met with a wide variety of individuals
throughout the community over a period of nearly a year as the EIR
process was under way. All comments and suggestions received were
included in the EIR and were available for the public to review
throughout the process. Before the EIR began, there were many
discussions between the university and local agencies.
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The university continues to
contribute to the Valley’s long-term vitality by building a
healthier regional economy. In 2004, the university had a $507-million
impact on the regional economy and supported 6,630 full-time jobs.
Campus Pointe will contribute to the local tax base from more sales,
hotel, business and possessory use taxes. No state tax dollars are
being used for the project. The fact is Campus Pointe would generate
an estimated $1.5 million to $2 million per year in new tax revenue
for Fresno County. It also provides numerous employment opportunities
for Fresno State students at a location that is within walking
distance of where they take classes and where they live. There are
currently limited services available within walking distance for our
campus community.
Artist concept of workforce housing at
Campus Pointe
Early artist concept of the central plaza
at Campus Pointe, inspired by locations such as Portland's
Pioneer Courthouse Square pictured below
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Fresno
State’s recent
international water conference attracted guests from
throughout the world. Campus Pointe will offer meeting spaces and
hotel accommodations that are often in short supply at hundreds of
campus events. This conference was held on the floor of the
Save Mart Center. |
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Campus
Pointe will offer the only
Hyatt Hotel in Central California. |
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