OCEANSIDE – A Dallas-based developer, JPI Properties, has started construction of a $150 million Oceanside apartment complex praised for being a transit-friendly project.
Built in the Fire Mountain neighborhood of Oceanside at the southwest corner of Crouch Street and South Oceanside Boulevard, Jefferson Ocean Creek will have 295 apartments that will include 30 apartments designated as affordable.
The apartments will be spread over five two-story buildings.
Jefferson Ocean Creek takes its name from a creek that runs along the edge of the property that will be restored by JPI.
Built along the Sprinter light rail line on a 19-acre site, the project will include 3,000 square feet of commercial space with tenants yet to be identified.
CEO
JPI Properties
“Typically, most prospective tenants won’t even start looking at it until you get a lot closer to delivery,” said JPI CEO Payton Mayes. “It’s going to be a nice space with a lot of nice restaurants.”
Mayes said that JPI has been working on Jefferson Ocean Creek for five years.
“A lot of people had worked on it before us,” Mayes said. “Taking it through the entitlement process, like a lot of projects out there, can be challenging. We’ve developed a good working relationship with the city, and they trusted JPI.”
The site was challenging, in part, because it goes up a steep hillside, Mayes said.
The hillside will be reseeded with native plants and restoring the creek will include replacing intrusive plants with native varieties.
Due to open in early 2026, Jefferson Ocean Creek will have four studio apartments averaging 590 square feet, 154 one-bedroom apartments averaging 709 square feet, 125 two-bedroom apartments averaging 1,063 square feet, and 12 three-bedroom apartments averaging 1,296 square feet.
Monthly rents on the market-rate apartments will range from about
$2,200 to about $4,500, Mayes said, adding that 10% of the apartments would be earmarked for low-income tenants with annual incomes of 30% to 60% of the Area Median Income.
More to Come
As part of infrastructure improvements associated with the project, JPI will close a gap on South Oceanside Boulevard, which is parallel to Oceanside Boulevard but not connected to South Oceanside Boulevard.
The company will also build a new left-turn lane on Crouch Street and a new sidewalk on the north side of Crouch Street.
“We’re improving the street right next to it to really clean it up and make it much more pedestrian-friendly,” Mayes said.
Among energy saving measures, solar panels will generate 1,252 kilowatts of power. The project will also have 48 electric vehicles charging stations.
Despite the challenges, Mayes said that JPI is “very bullish” on the San Diego County housing market.
“We’ve had a presence for a quarter of a century.”
“Obviously, we’re in a cyclical business and the number of housing starts nationally has certainly been coming down but JPI has a 35-year track record of building through market cycles and we’re excited to start the project now,” Mayes said.
Still in the works is 901 Mission, a JPI apartment project along Mission Avenue in downtown Oceanside.
Pending permit approval, 901 Mission would have 272 apartments in an eight-story building.
“All of this is preliminary because we’re still working with the city,” Mayes said, adding that he expects Jefferson Ocean Creek to draw many of its tenants from the nearby Camp Pendleton.
Other JPI projects in San Diego include Jefferson Makers Quarter, Jefferson Pacific Beach and Jefferson La Mesa.
JPI Properties
FOUNDED: 1989
CEO: Payton Mayes
HEADQUARTERS: Dallas
BUSINESS: multifamily housing construction
EMPLOYEES: 300
WEBSITE: www.jpi.com
NOTABLE: JPI Properties has delivered more than 117,000 apartments in 143 cities valued at more than $19 billion
