Who is JPI?

JPI, the developer of the proposed The Jefferson at Saw Mill development at the corner of Lawrence
Street and Saw Mill River Road (Route 9A) is based in Irving, Texas.

They are one of the largest developers of multi-family housing in the country. While an Internet search reveals they have not received any awards for either outstanding architecture or building "green"' in any significant manner beyond what everyone else is doing, their building practices caused the United States Justice Department to sue  JPI for significant violations of the Federal Fair Housing Act as it pertains to providing the required design features lawfully required to make their developments accessible to the disabled.  As a result in 2012, JPI paid the largest civil fine ever in a Fair Housing Act case ($250,000) plus a 10.5 million dollar payment to create an accessibility fund to settle the case.

It should also not be surprising that JPI's former CEO was one of the largest contributors to former Texas Governor Rick Perry who claims that global warming is a hoax. Oops indeed.

No one should confuse JPI with the Sierra Club.

It also remains to be seen what experience JPI has in cleaning a brownfield  which is the nature of the location where JPI seeks to build its rental apartments. Whether prospective tenants will want to live over a former brownfield remediated by JPI is of course, another issue as well as whether our state tax dollars should subsidize this type of intensive residential development.