Downtown San Diego Development, A Brief History of Significant Projects

As many of you may have noticed by now, we are a San Diego-based company, so it made sense for us to begin our interesting series of decisions with a local issue.

To start, some general background.

Downtown San Diego has been the subject of a major redevelopment effort beginning in the mid-1980s. At the time, the area was downright unsafe and a general sore in the eye. Pete Wilson, when he was mayor, once joked that if you fired a laser shot down Broadway (downtown’s main east-west highway) at 5 pm, you wouldn’t hit anyone who wasn’t wobbling. Things are very different now, although no one is going to confuse downtown San Diego with New York or San Francisco. Approximately 30,000 people currently live in the city center and 90,000 residents are expected to be located in the center by 2025. In addition, 175,000 jobs are located and another 100,000 are expected to be located there by 2025. The Centro is also a very popular hotel/vacation destination for both leisure and convention travelers. San Diego is one of the top 5 convention destinations in the US and while there is seemingly always talk of convention center expansion, it will likely start again at the end of the economic downturn (more on that later).

In the past 25+ years, Downtown San Diego has seen at least 5 major projects approved and built:

Horton Plaza: Groundbreaking took place in 1981 and opened in 1985. A multi-level shopping mall, most famous for its architecture and set-up. It’s intentionally frustrating for tourists (no, that’s not a typo) as it’s inspired by Venice, Italy, with canals and no logical way to get from one side of the mall to the other, which you can see below. However, it has become a central park of both downtown and cultural San Diego:

gas lamp quarter

A 16.5 block historic (at least for Southern California!) neighborhood that is mostly late 1880s Victorian architecture. The area now contains over 100 restaurants and nightclubs and is probably the most centralized nightlife district in California. Part of the charm of the Gaslamp Quarter is that it is completely walkable from start to finish and is very close to public transportation as well as the 10,000 hotel rooms in downtown San Diego.

San Diego Convention Center: Voters approved a bond measure in 1983, in typical San Diego fashion, construction did not begin until 1987 and was completed in 1989. An expansion was completed in 2001 that doubled the size of the center, though square footage is not yet complete. large enough to handle the 5 largest conventions in the United States. Recently, the city government has thought they can get a bigger share of the convention business because of some of the backlash against Las Vegas from politicians in Washington. San Diego would like to build on its reputation as a family destination. Located directly on the water at the base of the Gaslamp District, the convention center is within 1 mile of 10,000 hotel rooms with another 4,000 in the planning stages.

harbor town

“Innovation” in 1978 with completion in 1980. Locals always laugh at the idea of ​​opening a port village because most of the 90,000-square-foot complex is built on landfill reclaimed when the military dredged San Diego Bay to allow aircraft bigger. aircraft carrier to port across the bay at Naval Air Station Coronado. Seaport is a car-free environment with walking paths through single-story buildings, ponds, gardens, and views of the bay. It is a popular meeting point for tourists and locals for its unique shops and atmosphere. It is located half a mile from the cruise terminal, which has recently caused a dramatic increase in business.

petco park

More than a few books could be written about how Petco Park was ultimately built and the costs associated with it, however, one general concept is very clear: Petco is one of the few sports arena projects funded in part with public money to be a GOOD investment for citizens in financial terms. Financing the $450 million stadium and park at the park was a complicated undertaking with money coming from the team, the city of San Diego, the CCDC and the Port of San Diego. San Diego voters approved Proposition C in 1998, which provided public funding for the project.

The park is the center of a downtown redevelopment area. Originally, the city expected to receive between $500 million and $1 billion in private capital for the new development that directly borders the park; As of this writing, more than $2 billion has been expended, and after paying the bonds on the project, the City of San Diego estimates that they will earn approximately $10 million per year with increased revenue expected upon completion. development and equipment can bring more out of season events to the park such as rugby tournaments, concerts etc.

Pictured is the Western Metal Supply Company building, which was built in 1909. It now forms Petco Park’s left field foul line after the city moved it about 1 block instead of destroying it. It houses the Padres team store, suites, a restaurant/bar, and rooftop suites.