Any remaining doubt that Campus Pointe would become a reality at Fresno State was put to rest last week when the California State University Board of Trustees gave its blessing to the university̢۪s plans for the site, a big step toward construction.

But the controversy surrounding the project has not died down.

The plan is to build a multi-use complex on a 45-acre lot next to the Save Mart Center at Shaw and Chestnut avenues. The planned development, on university-owned land, would house privately-owned retail space and offices, a 14-screen movie theater, a 197-room hotel and 540 apartments, including housing for senior citizens. Nearly 1,400 residents may ultimately call Campus Pointe “home.”

Rent from businesses operating on the property would help pay down Fresno State̢۪s debt left over from the $103 million Save Mart Center, with some of the proceeds going to the College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology. Campus Pointe is estimated at $250 million with all costs covered by the development team, meaning the university will not have to foot the construction bill.

The trustees gave their final approval of Campus Pointe̢۪s Environmental Impact Report March 14. This report details the project̢۪s effects on the community and outlines ways to prevent or reduce negative impacts. Campus Pointe will be developed by Kashian Enterprises LP, which also built Fresno̢۪s River Park shopping complex. The project is under the oversight of California State University, Fresno Association, which also oversaw the building of the Save Mart Center.

Dr. Paul Oliaro, dean of Student Affairs, said chief functions for Campus Pointe include additional housing close to campus and more entertainment in the form of restaurants, retail shops and theater, all within walking distance of campus.

“Theaters will double as classrooms,” Oliaro said. “Not many classrooms on campus provide for 100 or more students.” He said these rooms will also be useful in hosting meetings and seminars.

Oliaro also touted the “intergenerational” housing Campus Pointe will promote. He said this model of people from different age groups living in close proximity is becoming more popular at campuses nationwide and is a good opportunity for increased interaction and “practical experience.”
That practical experience could come in the form of an internship or credit for community service for some students, Oliaro said, including students in gerontology and food service majors. “It just opens up a whole new world of opportunity,” Oliaro said.

Fresno State President Dr. John Welty said in an e-mail to The Collegian that a series of meetings were held on campus to find out what resources members of the campus community thought were important to achieve the goals of the university̢۪s strategic plan.
These needs included new facilities, Welty said. “I authorized planning to proceed for the project after reviewing the results of the meetings,” Welty said.

In a November editorial to The Fresno Bee, Welty laid out his belief that Campus Pointe “gives residents a greater opportunity to use university intellectual, cultural, and entertainment resources, adds to the local economy, provides a core of experienced experts to teach and mentor students and helps further diversify the campus community.”

But critics of the project, particularly local businesses and city officials from Clovis and Fresno, remain unswayed, saying that local businesses will be put at a disadvantage, traffic congestion in the area will increase and the development will be entitled to special tax exemptions and thus won̢۪t fully contribute to the community.

Clovis officials are particularly upset over the large new theater, especially since a 16-screen theater just opened at the Sierra Vista Mall in Clovis last December.

“They get privileges,” Fran Blackney, business advocate for the Clovis Chamber of Commerce, said of the university-sponsored project. “They don’t have to conform to general city plans.”

Blackney said public universities are exempt from certain city taxes, such as property taxes to help school districts and zoning regulations. She also feared for the fate of the city’s newest movie theater. “Either their cinema is going to go well or ours is,” Blackney said.

In addition, Blackney said she was particularly concerned about traffic. “The only thing Clovis gets out of Campus Pointe is more traffic,” Blackney said, adding her prediction of 18,000 more cars in the area as a result of Campus Pointe.

Clovis City Manager Kathy Millison said the university̢۪s ambitious plan would saturate the local market with an overabundance of movie screens and too many businesses of the same ilk, leading to more blight along Shaw Avenue.

She also complained of the university̢۪s decision to run first-run, popular films at the cinema instead of showing just the art and foreign language films the university initially proposed. Millison mentioned parking as an additional concern, as the Save Mart Center will lose some overflow parking as a result of the development.

Fresno State hasn’t done enough to meet the demands of community leaders over mitigating the project’s impact, Blackney added, including paying its fair share of local costs as well as impact fees — costs resulting from the expansion.

So far, Fresno State has agreed for the development to contribute $140,000 to Caltrans for freeway-related road and ramp improvements, and more than $322,000 for fire impact fees to the city of Fresno. The city of Fresno is still demanding millions more in impact fees for police, park and other services, issues still to be resolved.

Resolution was also reached with the city of Clovis when Fresno State agreed to have the project help pay for:

̢ۢadding an agricultural extension to Tollhouse Road up to Bullard Avenue

̢ۢwidening part of Barstow Avenue to four lanes with additional turn lanes

̢ۢinstalling security traffic cameras at Shaw and Willow avenues and Barstow and Willow avenues.

Deborah Adishian-Astone, associate vice president of campus auxiliary operations, said Campus Pointe wouldn’t result in local business losses. “The retail square feet represents only 16 percent of the total square feet for the entire development,” Adishian-Astone said. “The retail will be geared toward services for those who live at Campus Pointe and the surrounding campus area (i.e. grocery store, bank, dry cleaners, drug store, etc.).” Maya Cinemas will oversee the construction and operation of the planned theater, Adishian-Astone said.

In acknowledging that Campus Pointe models are catching on at other universities, Adishian-Astone described the model as “a mechanism for getting development accomplished that both generates a guaranteed revenue stream for the university and provides a low risk alternative for getting facilities built to serve the greater campus community.”

Some universities that have adopted Campus Pointe-style projects include Stanford, Georgetown and Auburn, but they differ in significant ways from Fresno State̢۪s plans in size and scope.

Fresno State students, at least those who were aware of Campus Pointe, were divided over the project̢۪s pros and cons.

Lorena Areas, senior liberal studies major, said Campus Pointe would be problematic because it will cause a lot of traffic.

But Nhia Xiong, a fourth grade teacher and Fresno State alumnus who plans to return to Fresno State next fall to pursue a post-baccalaureate degree, liked the idea of expansion.

“The Save Mart Center put Fresno on the map,” Xiong said. “And Campus Pointe will draw even more people in.”