Rental market absorbs impact of Poly Canyon

Approximately 1,500 sophomores returned to Cal Poly last month and moved into Poly Canyon Village, the university’s newly-opened residential complex that will include nearly 2,700 beds when the project is completed in Fall 2009.
Featuring a post office, a small grocery store and a swimming pool, along with Jamba Juice, Peet’s Coffee and Tea and Einstein Bros. Bagels, the micro-community is part of Cal Poly’s master plan to ultimately house about one-third of its enrolled students on campus.
The opening of Poly Canyon Village, where residents pay $690 a month, is affecting the rental market, although local property managers say they are taking the impact in stride.
“Are we seeing an impact? Yes,” said Tim Banducci of California-West, Inc., a property management company that handles many student rentals.
But Banducci emphasized that demand remained strong and noted he saw more of an impact on apartment rentals than on single-family homes.
“Instead of excess demand, there’s good demand,” he said.
Heidi Goetz, a broker with Goetz-Manderley, said she’s noticed renters were more selective.
“I did notice some choosiness,” said Goetz.
That motivated landlords to invest in maintenance such as new carpeting and paint jobs that they might otherwise have deferred for another year or so.
Still, Goetz said the pending addition of 1,500 beds didn’t result in significantly less demand or an across-the-board decrease in rental rates.
“We actually stayed quite busy this summer.”
Increasing the number of beds on campus has been long planned, said Preston Allen, executive director of university housing, and is tied directly to enrollment increases forecasted at Cal Poly. The number of students enrolled hit a new high of 19,777 last Fall, up from 17,582 in 2004. Numbers for the current year are not yet available, but the university’s master plan calls for enrollment to increase to 20,900 over the next two decades.
“I think there are several positive impacts,” Allen said of the new housing.
Specifically, he believes the completion of Poly Canyon Village will improve town-gown relations because fewer underclassmen will be living in residential neighborhoods.
“I have to believe it will improve the quality of life in the neighborhoods.”
Banducci, of Cal-West, agreed.
“It’s good for the college and it’s good for the community.”
Additionally, Allen said Poly Canyon Village could pump more tourism dollars into the community each summer. Groups planning residential retreats or conferences on campus could use the Poly Canyon rooms for lodging. Allen said there wouldn’t be direct competition with hotels, and the people attending would likely shop and eat downtown.
Approximately 1,500 sophomores returned to Cal Poly last month and moved into Poly Canyon Village, the university’s newly-opened residential complex that will include nearly 2,700 beds when the project is completed in Fall 2009.
Featuring a post office, a small grocery store and a swimming pool, along with Jamba Juice, Peet’s Coffee and Tea and Einstein Bros. Bagels, the micro-community is part of Cal Poly’s master plan to ultimately house about one-third of its enrolled students on campus.
The opening of Poly Canyon Village, where residents pay $690 a month, is affecting the rental market, although local property managers say they are taking the impact in stride.
“Are we seeing an impact? Yes,” said Tim Banducci of California-West, Inc., a property management company that handles many student rentals.
But Banducci emphasized that demand remained strong and noted he saw more of an impact on apartment rentals than on single-family homes.
"Instead of excess demand, there’s good demand,” he said.
Heidi Goetz, a broker with Goetz-Manderley, said she’s noticed renters were more selective.
“I did notice some choosiness,” said Goetz.
That motivated landlords to invest in maintenance such as new carpeting and paint jobs that they might otherwise have deferred for another year or so.
Still, Goetz said the pending addition of 1,500 beds didn’t result in significantly less demand or an across-the-board decrease in rental rates.
“We actually stayed quite busy this summer.”
Increasing the number of beds on campus has been long planned, said Preston Allen, executive director of university housing, and is tied directly to enrollment increases forecasted at Cal Poly. The number of students enrolled hit a new high of 19,777 last Fall, up from 17,582 in 2004. Numbers for the current year are not yet available, but the university’s master plan calls for enrollment to increase to 20,900 over the next two decades.
“I think there are several positive impacts,” Allen said of the new housing.
Specifically, he believes the completion of Poly Canyon Village will improve town-gown relations because fewer underclassmen will be living in residential neighborhoods.
“I have to believe it will improve the quality of life in the neighborhoods.”
Banducci, of Cal-West, agreed.
“It’s good for the college and it’s good for the community.”
Additionally, Allen said Poly Canyon Village could pump more tourism dollars into the community each summer. Groups planning residential retreats or conferences on campus could use the Poly Canyon rooms for lodging. Allen said there wouldn’t be direct competition with hotels, and the people attending would likely shop and eat downtown.

Airport expansion vital

for economic development

A chamber-led coalition of business and community leaders is continuing efforts to retain and expand service levels at San Luis Obispo’s airport, as county officials decide whether to continue critical master-planned airport improvements.
While recognizing the volatility of the airline industry, the San Luis Obispo County Air Transportation Alliance (SLOCATA) is urging the county to move forward with improvements that include an expanded tarmac to accommodate larger regional jets, considered critical to the city’s economic development.
SLOCATA was founded last month by the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Vitality Corporation and includes all of the chambers in the county and several other community and governmental organizations. Recent changes in airline economics, especially fuel costs, have caused many airlines to retire their smaller propeller planes and smaller regional jets, which have traditionally served medium-sized markets such as San Luis Obispo.
Indeed, so fluid is the industry that some regional airlines view the pull-out of American and Delta as an opportunity. US Airways has already announced it is replacing two 50-seat regional jets flying from San Luis Obispo to Phoenix with a pair of 90-seat jets to accommodate demand.
“I think the county should proceed with its new terminal and other plans for improving the airport,” said Larry Shupnick, who co-owns The Cliffs Resort and is known nationally in the hotel industry. “The county is growing. You can’t deny the fact that there is a great need for convenient air transportation.”
Since its formation in the wake of this summer’s announcement that American Airlines and Delta Airlines were leaving San Luis Obispo, SLOCATA has launched a two-pronged approach to bolster the airport: convincing the county to invest in the airport’s infrastructure and working to retain and expand service in San Luis Obispo.
“An airport with convenient and affordable connections to the air transport network is essential in today’s economy if a city is to keep and attract businesses with interests extending nationally and internationally,” said Rick Nelson, vice president of market development for General LED in San Luis Obispo. “Vital economies need a healthy mix of both local and non-local business activity.”
Before coming to San Luis Obispo, Nelson had more than 20 years experience in top airline management.
Results of a survey conducted by the Chamber substantiate just how vital air service is to the area’s economic development. Nearly 85 percent of the 1,362 responses said commercial air service at San Luis Obispo’s airport is either “critical” or “extremely important.” Three-quarters of respondents said air service in San Luis Obispo was important to the economic vitality of their businesses.