Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions
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Yes. This plan provides a blueprint for the university’s long-term growth. The availability of appropriate space for quality education is crucial to SDSU’s future enrollment growth. Over time, SDSU Mission Valley could allow as many as 15,000 additional students.
Plans for the Mission Valley site include:
- 1.6 million square feet of academic and research/innovation space, affording technology transfer between companies and SDSU researchers;
- More than 80 acres of open space with a river park, athletic and recreational fields, and more than 4 miles of hiking and biking trails;
- Approximately 4,600 residential units, including student, faculty, and staff housing, as well as, affordable, workforce, and market-rate housing;
- A 35,000 capacity multi-use stadium for college football, professional soccer, other sports, concerts and events; expandable for NFL football;
- 95,000 square feet of neighborhood-serving retail shops and business services;
- 400 hotel rooms and 40,000 square feet of conference space that will accommodate visitors and serve as an incubator for students in SDSU's L. Robert Payne School of Hospitality and Tourism Management.
- Approximately 6,000 parking spaces for public and game-day use along with additional spaces as required for housing and retail.
The first stage of construction includes the new stadium and the river park, which are both complete, and the initial phase of residential housing and research/innovation space.
SDSU has committed to building 10 percent of the units on site as affordable housing, approximately 460 of the 4,600 units. Those units will be available to those who qualify for affordable housing, including students, faculty, staff, and the general community.
Yes. SDSU built a true multi-use stadium designed specifically for both soccer and football. Snapdragon Stadium is already the home to the San Diego Wave, the professional National Women’s Soccer League. We will welcome the new Major League Soccer team, San Diego FC, to Snapdragon Stadium in its inaugural season in 2025. .
SDSU Mission Valley will provide SDSU with the opportunity to expand its academic and economic impact on the region through a world-class research and Innovation District just three trolley stops from SDSU. We know that every dollar invested in SDSU Mission Valley will benefit our university, our students, and the city through the economic return of higher education. The dividends will come in the form of a better trained workforce and greater economic development.
SDSU Mission Valley will also enable the university and its partners to help people expand their livelihoods, create new career pathways, and expand our region’s capabilities when it comes to finding solutions through research and development across the many growth sectors in San Diego. As a national hub for biotech, life sciences, technology, defense, and hospitality and tourism, it is imperative that we not only provide educational opportunities for local students to enter those fields but also work with these industries to innovate and expand the amazing work already happening here in San Diego.
Everyone. The design of this park allows for active and passive uses that make for a vibrant green space, not just for the campus community to enjoy, but for all San Diegans to use and take pride in.
The annual economic impact of SDSU Mission Valley is estimated at approximately $3 billion, including $21 million in annual tax revenue for the City of San Diego.
Based on a fall 2017 report, SDSU today generates more than $5.67 billion in economic impact and approximately $457 million annually in tax revenue streams for state and local governments. We also know that for every 10,000 additional graduates, an estimated $200 million in annual economic output is generated for the regional economy.
No. This plan will not increase student tuition or fees. The California State University (CSU) system-wide student costs are set by the Board of Trustees.
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Planning Process
Yes. In 2019, SDSU initiated and completed a thorough and open California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review process that allowed for significant public review and input. The CEQA process identified environmental and traffic impacts, as well as appropriate mitigation measures. The Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was certified by the California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees in January 2020.
Yes. Since the SDSU Mission Valley plan was released in 2017, SDSU has given hundreds of presentations on and off campus for input into the plan. Robust community engagement occurred throughout the entitlement process and SDSU continues to have meaningful dialogue with relevant local stakeholders. For more information about how to share your input with SDSU, please check our Contact page. You can also sign up for regular email updates.
Yes, SDSU has more than 120 years of land-use planning and development experience. In the last six years, SDSU has completed more than $500 million in capital projects including classroom, residential, and mixed-use buildings.
Traffic Mitigation Measures
As identified in the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR), SDSU will implement a number of major traffic improvements and will fund its fair share of traffic improvements in the SDSU Mission Valley vicinity. The EIR’s proposed traffic improvements are substantial, and will be implemented at the points when land uses cause significant impacts under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Significant impacts occur when development causes projected additional daily trips that increase traffic levels above acceptable thresholds.
Additionally, over and above the mitigation requirements, and as identified in the Final EIR, SDSU Mission Valley will provide an additional $5 million towards community benefit traffic/transportation improvements.
For further details on the traffic mitigation measures, refer to the Mitigation, Monitoring and Reporting Program in the Final EIR.
The traffic improvements will be completed or the university’s fair share obligation will be funded per the triggers identified in the Final Environmental Impact Report's (EIR) Mitigation, Monitoring and Reporting Program, which makes the traffic improvements and their timing binding on the California State University (CSU).
A traffic improvement/mitigation measure is considered technically “infeasible” if SDSU lacks the access and ability to implement the improvement.
With city coordination and access to the right of way, which was agreed to in the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR), the mitigation related to city improvements is now feasible.
Upon occurrence of a significant impact as identified in the Final EIR’s Mitigation Monitoring Plan and triggered by actual development and with the city’s coordination on the specific off-site traffic improvement, the improvements will be completed.
Finance
The Mission Valley site plan is self-supporting and will be paid for by revenue generated by uses on the site. SDSU Mission Valley will not rely on taxpayer dollars, student tuition, or student fees. SDSU will also utilize public-private partnerships to leverage private sector financing, as well as additional skill sets from a variety of commercial, industrial, and residential developers.
Additionally, SDSU utilized revenue bonds through the California State University (CSU) system for the initial investment to prepare the land for development and construct the river park. This is not the same as taxpayer dollars. These bonds will be paid back by revenue generated by the site itself. The CSU Board of Trustees approved this financing for the initial site development and river park at its January 2020 meeting.
Public-private partnerships (P3s) will be a significant source of funding for SDSU Mission Valley, and will be utilized for the housing, retail, and Innovation District buildings. These partnerships are used across the country and allow universities to mitigate the financial risk inherent in the construction and operation of a building by letting that risk lie with the private sector who in return shares in the value of the buildings that get built. P3s will also generate property tax revenue because they will be shared spaces with industry.
The California State University (CSU) system has completed many P3s, and successful examples within and outside of the CSU include:
- Montage on College at SDSU
- University of California, Davis West Village
- Georgia Tech’s Tech Square
- Arizona State University Research Park
- Innovation Village at Cal Poly Pomona
Initial site development costs include the land purchase, site infrastructure, river park, and certain off-site mitigation (as part of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process).
Initial costs were approximately $350 million, much of it financed through systemwide revenue bonds issued by California State University (CSU) with long-term repayment coming primarily from public-private partnership ground lease revenues. Both the CSU and SDSU also made initial capital investments in SDSU Mission Valley. The CSU system invested $60 million and SDSU invested $40 million utilizing auxiliary resources. SDSU’s investment will be paid back over time when ground lease revenue exceeds the debt payment.
The CSU is “double A” rated with excellent, established access to the capital markets and $6.3 billion in outstanding revenue bonds. The CSU regularly issues bonds to construct revenue generating projects that do not require student tuition or taxpayer dollars—self-supporting projects similar to the types of projects envisioned for SDSU Mission Valley. The site preparation costs and river park development costs are modest compared to the CSU’s overall capital program capabilities and experience.
The CSU has access to significantly lower cost of capital including:
- Short and Medium term debt instruments (Commercial Paper, Floating or Fixed Rate Notes, Put Bonds, Direct Bank Loans)
- Long Term Revenue Bonds, if needed.
The multi-use stadium cost approximately $310 million to construct which was financed by revenue bonds and donations. The repayment of the revenue bonds will be covered by revenue generated by the facility (e.g., ticket revenue, facilities rental revenue, naming rights, sponsorships, and donations).
Much of the vertical development will be financed through public-private partnerships via ground leases to third party development partners. Development partners will provide private financing to develop and construct residential units, the Innovation District, hotel, and retail outlets. Public-private partnerships will allow the university to have access to new space without bearing the risk of financing, operations, and maintenance of the buildings. The planned development schedule would begin in 2020 and is anticipated to take approximately 10-15 years for full build-out. Buildings would be occupied as they are constructed.
Contingencies are built into every project financed through California State University (CSU) revenue bonds (including ensuring a cushion in revenues well above the debt service/repayment and anticipation of interest rate increases before final financing of a project). Other university and CSU revenues, not generated from tax dollars (state appropriations) and not tuition or student fee resources, can be used to make debt payments.
Student tuition and fees are not part of the contingency plan.
The CSU has never defaulted on a debt payment.
SDSU activated an additional strategy to expedite the timeline of revenue generation from public private partnerships in Mission Valley through the establishment of a $30 million contingency fund from one-time campus reserves. This strategy also allows us to avoid significant cost escalation from delaying construction and to minimize interest expense by taking advantage of the current very favorable capital market.
The estimated savings will far exceed the $30 million contingency set aside. This fund operates as an internal loan. While it may not be needed, it will be available to support academic, research, and Innovation District development needs for both SDSU Mission Valley and SDSU Imperial Valley. To be clear, this set-aside would be exclusively used to support academic and research capital development in the Innovation District, and will not support any component of Snapdragon Stadium, which relies strictly on stadium-related revenue. This strategy will allow for the university to expedite the timeline of potential public-private partnerships with our colleges and overall revenue generation for the university, and any dollars from this fund that are used will be repaid directly with ground lease revenue.
Given the current state budget and the anticipated reduction in state funding for any capital projects in the next few years, this contingency fund provides additional flexibility for SDSU’s future academic development needs.
Yes. Because many of the new buildings in Mission Valley will be shared with private entities, they will generate property taxes based on possessory interests. Due to the anticipated length of the lease agreements, the tax revenue will be similar to standard property taxes.
Additionally, retail establishments and the hotel will generate sales tax and transient occupancy tax (TOT) revenue for the City of San Diego.
Negotiations with the City of San Diego are complete. The San Diego City Council approved the Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA) on June 30, 2020.
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