NEWS RELEASE
March 10, 2008
Thomas Jefferson’s Downtown Campus Wins Approval
from the San Diego Planning Commission
Major Milestone in Building Process
SAN DIEGO - Thomas Jefferson School of Law here has marked a major milestone in the process of building a new campus in San Diego’s East Village area.
The San Diego Planning Commission unanimously approved the Site Development Permit for Thomas Jefferson on March 6. Brad Richter, Center City Development Corporation Senior Planner, presented the project to the commission.
“We are pleased that the Planning Commission has given its approval to our building plans,” said Thomas Jefferson Dean Rudy Hasl. “There are tremendous advantages to this project and we are glad that the city recognizes them. This is the last major hurdle in the approval process."
The site of the new campus is located at 1123 Island Ave., right on the San Diego Trolley line and just a short walk to the Padres' Petco Park and the planned site of the new downtown library. Dean Hasl said plans to relocate the law school to the downtown area have been in the works for about two years and the law school is hoping to move into its new campus in the fall of 2010.
The new building will have a gross square footage of 177,000 and a net square footage of about 142,000. The architectural plans which have been approved are for a contemporary-looking structure that features several outdoor terraces and walls of windows through which passersby can see into the law school while those inside can observe the activity of the East Village. The interior plans will include an increased number of classrooms, offices and collaborative work areas as well as an expansive two-floor law library, and ample open space and study areas. Half of the ground floor of the building would be dedicated to law school offices while the other half would be commercial space open to the public in the form of a cafe, bookstore and a live client legal clinic to be operated by Thomas Jefferson.
"We plan to be a vibrant part of the East Village - we're the last piece of the puzzle in this newly redeveloped setting of commercial and residential mixed use."
Thomas Jefferson School of Law, located in historic Old Town San Diego, is fully accredited by the American Bar Association and the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State of California and is also a member of the Association of American Law Schools. In addition to the juris doctor program, the law school offers LL.M. (Master of Law) degrees in three different international legal specialties.