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Pierce Education Finishing $47M SDSU Student Housing Complex

A $47 million student housing apartment tower is being completed adjacent to the San Diego State University campus by Pierce Education Properties.

Fred Pierce
President and CEO
Pierce Education Properties

Called Topaz, the seven-story tower at 5824 Montezuma Way was built by Pierce Education Properties in partnership with the family of Virginia Scarcella, who have owned the property since the 1970’s, according to Fred Pierce, president and CEO of Pierce Education Properties (PEP).

The property had been the site of a McDonald’s restaurant and a strip shopping center, both of which were razed to make way for the apartment tower

The project has 169 beds in 53 apartments.  Student housing is typically leased by the bed rather than by the apartment so students or their families are responsible for paying rent only on the space they use as opposed to sharing the full cost of an apartment with roommates, Pierce said.

All of the bedrooms come with a private bathroom.

The apartments have faux-wood floors, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, in-unit washers and dryers, and 50-inch smart televisions.

Four of the apartments have billiard tables in the common area and two penthouse suites on the upper level have balconies and 70-inch televisions. One penthouse apartment also has a study room.

“This is going to be the most highly amenitized student complexes at San Diego State, that’s pedestrian, that’s in immediate walking distance,” Pierce said.

Amenities include landscaped courtyards, private study and conference rooms, a spa, a game room/spa, a fitness center, and a vertical tanning booth.

The project also includes 10,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor, all of which has been leased.

Businesses leasing the retail space are McDonald’s as the anchor tenant, Handel’s Homemade Ice Crem, Jimmy John’s, Dunkin Donuts, and The Alley – a boba tea shop.

Prime Location

Among those working on Topaz were AVRP Studios, Wolden Design, KTGY Architecture and Cannon Constructors South.

Pierce said that building Topaz within walking distance to the main entrance to SDSU was “a once in half a century opportunity. It’s really unique to be in that location.”

Topaz is scheduled to open for students to move in in August, but by mid-January about 20% of the apartments had been leased, Pierce said.

“When we first went on social media and set up a landing page, before we started leasing in November, within a week we had 600 people fill out guest cards wanting information on the project,” Pierce said.

An SDSU graduate, Pierce said that demand for student housing at SDSU and elsewhere is on the rise and shows no sign of letting up, according to Pierce.

“SDSU is expected to see enrollment growth of more than 15,000 new students over the next decade. Demand for student housing is expected to be even more robust due to the shortage of housing in the San Diego County market, coupled with rising fuel prices encouraging students to live in the limited inventory of housing somewhere they can walk or bike to campus,” Pierce said. “The students want to live at college. The days of commuting from home is yesteryear.”

He said that the company owns 8,000 student housing beds in apartment projects in 18 states with a goal of ultimately owning 20,000 or more.

“We’re a bigger buyer and owner of student housing than we are a developer,” Pierce said. “Last year, we bought four new apartment complexes.”

Pierce Education Properties

Founded: 1995
Headquarters: Mission Valley
President and CEO: Fred Pierce
Business: Developer and owner of student housing projects
Employees: 150
Contact: 619-297-0400
Notable: Since 2007, Pierce Education Properties has acquired or built student housing projects in 18 states.

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