CHULA VISTA RESTARTS QUEST FOR UNIVERSITY

City hires firms to help with talks and recruitment

After tabling efforts during the pandemic, Chula Vista is looking to officially start marketing its University and Innovation District to attract a four-year institution.

First, it’s going to need to hire real estate and legal professionals who can help the city with negotiations and recruitment.

To get started, the City Council last week approved two agreements: the first was with real estate company CBRE for $653,500 and the second was with Stradling, Yocca, Carlson and Rauth for an amount not to exceed $150,000.

The city has sought to bring a four-year university to eastern Chula Vista on nearly 400 acres of cityowned land dubbed the “University and Innovation District,” which is located adjacent to land owned by Homefed Corporation. The city is evaluating a development partnership with Homefed to potentially fulfill the role of a master developer of the district, according to a city staff report.

Over the years, Chula Vista has pitched its plan of having a multi-institutional and bi-national university to private and public institutions in the United States and Mexico, but to no avail, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic, said Eric Crockett, deputy city manager. In July 2020, the California State University Board of Trustees released a report saying that Chula Vista and four other locations were not feasible for a new campus based on enrollment demand. To date, the only one that has shown interest is the San Marcos-based University of Saint Katherine. Its 2018 option-to-lease deal with the city allows the institution to lease 10 acres for $1 a year, but there have been no recent plans to relocate.

Last year, Crockett added, the city began “to have a conversation internally about, ‘Is it appropriate now to begin thinking about marketing the property,’” but decided it would wait for “institutions of higher education throughout the country to get their feet on the ground and kind of see what their new reality is.”

As everyone continues to adjust, the city wants to accomplish two major tasks so that it can engage in talks with universities again. One is to complete a terms sheet, which outlines the terms and conditions of a potential agreement, and the second is to complete a final master development agreement.

CBRE will help the city undertake both tasks, with a goal of bringing a master development agreement to the council by November, said Miranda Evans, a city special projects manager.

Stradling, which is also providing legal services to the city on the Bayfront project, will offer support for the negotiation and documentation of a master development agreement. City Attorney Glen Googins said the city needs “focused, outside expertise” due to limited city resources to structure and complete the agreement.

The City Council unanimously approved the agreements, with Councilmember Steve Padilla absent.

“I am really confident in the work that you can do to finally get us some good partners in the university and get this thing going once and for all,” said Mayor Mary Casillas Salas. “The city of Chula Vista has really wanted this to happen and the motive is really to serve the public.”