It's going to fail.

Too many NIMBYs in this city

Here's a PDF of the community plan. Hopefully we'll see all four proposals put forward for the Sports Arena site and surrounding acreage.

https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/defau...ept_2018_0.pdf

UT article about it published today.

Word on the street is that the RFP might be recirculated because the current one still specifies the 30' height limit....

SD City Council finalizes the sale of the Qualcomm site to SDSU

https://timesofsandiego.com/politics...-land-to-sdsu/

Construction Updates from someone in Industry
 

I was getting gas at EC Blvd and Texas St yesterday saw a contractor taking photos of the UC project across street and started talking to him.

Bad news first: The mega project at Park Blvd and EC at beginning of University Heights strip that has been cleared but no equipment on it for 3 months is.... STALLED! 370 units he said financing either fell through or they never got final approval and just cleared the site. Let's hope some Banksters decide to kick in funds.

Jonathan Segal Project: He said he wants to go up to 34 floors at Park and Polk... I said what about community opposition he said well technically there isn't a height limit so he is going for it!

He also noted his construction company has lost 3 projects due to financing falling through. This economic collapse is hitting guys. :uhh:

I like tall buildings but yeah, 34 floors is too much for the area

Bosa Tower topped off and basically completed

Not sure how tall the tower on the left will be.

https://i.imgur.com/kcnY3Yw.jpg?1

I'm confused. Didn't Jonathan Segal already build something at Park and Polk? Is there another project at that intersection?

Sorry not Polk but somewhere right around there on the Park Blvd strip maybe just south Polk.

Bosa seems like a nice infill tower. Thanks for the shot.

Moving to SD after my office reopens. I was thinking of buying a unit in the smart corner but not so sure now.

Congrats on moving to San Diego. The Bosa tower will be nice with the roof deck and finishes, but if you can afford it buying in Smart Corner will make more sense financially in the long run. Smart Corner used to be kinda on the edge of downtown and the surrounding neighborhood was kinda underdeveloped (a little sketchy), but that is changing fast. The whole Upper East Village is now happening with new restaurants in IDEA 1 and along Broadway. Literally, 1000s of new units (almost all apartments) are approved around Smart Corner. The addition of people and $, should result in more businesses, restaurants, and amenities. Smart Corner also literally sits above the trolley station for seamless rides to Little Italy's Mercato on Saturdays and soon straight to the heart of UCSD in LaJolla when the new trolley line opens. But for now, Smart Corner is undervalued with strong investment potential. Its also hard to beat the rooftop hot tub and grill. [I lived there and loved it from 2015-2018]

Hey SD Planner. Thanks for the awesome reply, I figured I'd get negativity.

Yeah, I want to be downtown with access to the highway. This place seemed reasonably priced, nice balconies/views and potential for appreciation.

I've been following the forum closely as the East Village just seems to be blowing up. I hope that all these projects continue after covid slows down. Get rid of some of those parking lots. :)

Thanks again!

I guess this is pretty much it for Downtown SD high rise development for the next 5 years. high rise construction is toast downtown once Bosa and Pinnacle are done. Am I wrong?

You have the courthouse tower which is close to 500 feet on Broadway moving forward not sure how much it will stand out in skyline because its a bit hemmed in by other talls.

Still holding out hope for 7th and Market lets see if Cisterra can convince some investment group to come in and fund that sucker. They can say look its a huge project that will take 2.5 years to complete so in 2023 when we open things will be looking up :shrug:

Who knows what will happen with Manchester Pacific Gateway he said he had financing to do the whole project and it was secured... Not sure how the ins and outs of development work so lets see on that.

Updates: Crane is up for the long anticipated second fathers Joe's Village "Tower" on Imperial close to MTS headquarters.

Streetlights: 29 floor tower F/15th St - still has no construction activity simply a cleared lot.

East Village Green: Wasn't construction supposed to be underway for that drove by yesterday and didn't see anything going on looks the same as always.

Manchester did away with financing since it didn't work out for him, so he has tried to finance the project himself which built the first tower. If he starts on the rest of the project, it means he is able to fully pay for the project from his own holdings. Remain to be seen. East Village Green: Should be good. Cristerra: doubtful if he gets financing in this current cycle or ever be able to move forward. Court Tower? thought they just built the court tower. It may be Holland Partner's new high rise on C street. May have problem with the softening of residential market in SD and tightening up the capital market. Keep us posted on this project. It may still be built since Holland Partner is very aggressive.

I’m convinced 7th and Market is a cursed plot of land and will remain a surface lot for the next decade, at least.

That site has had so many big plans that have gone down in flames, it’s really sad because it’s a prime spot.

Years ago there was a large project slated to move forward but it got tied-up in some scandal with a city official and was subsequently abandoned

The cisterra plans were announced over 5 years ago, I remember the plans were announced BEFORE park/market, and now park/market is pretty much complete and 7th/Market has zero activity.

That stupid lawsuit really ruined it along with the timing of COVID-19.

The one thing I’m not sure about - does the city still own the land or does Cisterra own it now?

Courthouse was demolished so I assumed Holland Project is moving forward there, has any announcement been made that it is not happening now?

Can someone site exactly what is going on with Manchester Pac Gate, I know its a bit confusing. So he had financing for entire project, then he rejected it because he crunched numbers and figured out it wouldn't work? He took enough to just build the Navy midrise, now he can either go back to Banks/Investors for a different financing mechanism or somehow self finance?

Do I have this correct, and all of this was made with an official announcement? They told the press that they have rejected the financing they had secured:shrug:

Yes, Manchester rejected financing, citing that it was too costly and too much strings attached to it. He built the Navy headquarters with a deal with the navy to move into the complex funded by the Navy. The road ends here for now. The Holland's court residential tower: ? maybe it's on hold due to declining rental market and relative glut of market rate apartments downtown. Maybe not: they may just have an upbeat take on it and still move forward, citing still severe housing shortage in the region and taking longer term approach.

The thing that is really irritating about Manchester allowing just the Navy building to go up, is now we are stuck with that building. The Manchester project had a distinctive design to it and all the buildings were supposed to match this Art Deco-ish design. Now, if a different developer wanted to re-envision that entire site they’d have this Navy building to configure into any plans. Manchester really screwed-up this site which was the last major undeveloped waterfront site like this downtown.

Was it Manchester that screwed the site up, or was it the years of lawsuits, bureaucracy, NIMBYs, and other similar BS he had to deal with that ultimately screwed the site up? The project would have been completed long ago if it wasn't for all the city's shenanigans.

Lawsuits and NIMBYs screwed up 7th and Market, but I blame Manchester for what happened with his project. He didn’t have any lawsuits when he broke ground and claimed he had full funding, that’s what was reported in the press. He then knowingly built the Navy tower knowing the rest wasn’t going to happen. I remember someone on this forum trying to call his office to get info on the project when it seemed to have stalled and they were hung up on. He can’t blame COVID-19 either, this stuff happened before the pandemic.

All obstacles to the Manchester project had been cleared. According to a friend who is a city council member she believes Manchester lied when he stated he had the funding. He did originally, but he pulled out of that financing agreement as he didn’t like the terms. Then he said he’d use his own money. He should have never built the Navy building without being transparent with the city.

An no, this wasn’t Covid related. I knew this a while back, hence my call to Manchester Financial to inquire. That’s when I was hung up on.

I'm referring to the years of shenanigans which came before...and delayed...the groundbreaking. If it wasn't for all the BS opposition the project would have been completed long ago.

In all reality he didn’t have the financing then either. MFG was spending their time on suits/etc., they didn’t have the financing at that time as they wanted to wait until all obstacles had been remedied before finalizing financing.

Once those obstacles were cleared he then built the Navy building then halted the rest. This was all pre-Covid.

First two proposed plans for the Sports Arena land are here:

https://sportsarenainput.org/

So my understanding is that in order to obtain non-equity financing (what was rejected) - this means a loan secured by Manchester’s interest in the ground lease from the Navy (99 years) he must FIRST construct, gratis, the HQ building and deliver to Navy. Once that occurs he has perfected his leasehold and can go borrow money secured by a leasehold deed of trust.

I have to say, perhaps the only good thing about this pandemic is how all these open houses are online now. So much more convenient.

Wait, are they building a new arena or just renovating the SA?

Is it really worth saving?

Looks like these proposals renovate the existing structure, which is much more cost effective. Not sure if the SA has the same problems the Q has/had that rendered it unsalvageable.

Stalled Construction Update:
 

7 FLoor Hillcrest Project Across the street from Whole Foods and that ATT switching station atrocity.... Stalled!! Still is not even close to reaching street level 25 feet down I would guess and that thing broke ground 10 months ago :(

Sports Arena Project: Do you guys really think this is going to happen anytime soon with how the economy is going to be? Who is going to lease all these 2800 to 3200$ 2 br 2bth units and $2100 1br? Young people who had money are screwed right now and its only going to get worse.

Broadway Courthouse project: Has anyone seen if this has transitioned from demo to construction of the tower? Thanks :cheers:

Update:

https://i.imgur.com/wQQGnCg.jpg?1

I'm not even sure what tower is this so I'm not sure if it's topped off

One is Pinnacle and the other is Broadway tower by Bosa. Both of them are pretty much topped off or close to being topped off.

One is Pinnacle and the other is Broadway tower by Bosa. The Broadway Tower is pretty much topped off. The other has ways to go before topping off.

Pinnacle is 32 floors so still has way to go
 

Weren't they also supposed to start construction soon on the twin to that one. Maybe good ole COVID put a stop to it. Anyone figure out whats up with the courthouse tower? :shrug:

Gee can some one else post the picture again. 3 times in a row. Insane.

Looks like Demolition work on the site that will become Alexan Little Italy.

https://imgur.com/j7EOpbZ.jpg

3rd & A rising to the 7/8th floor.
https://imgur.com/uPuWMkJ.jpg

Man, how exciting (and a little surreal) to finally see that very underutilized block get developed!

Thanks for the updates, ya'll. Does anyone know where we can get updates on upcoming downtown projects now that civic sd is gone? I checked the downtown community planners website, but nothing there. Are we going to have to start searching the city's website or something?

Pacific Gateway
 

Hearing from Jason Hughes that Alan Gold (founder of BioMedRealty, which he sold to Blackstone for ~$8b) has a new venture, IQHQ that just went non-refundable on the southern 2/3rds of the leasehold at Pacific Gateway (see: https://hughesmarino.com/san-diego/b...own-san-diego/)

Jason speculates that someone like Alan Gold wouldn't make a big bet on life sciences space downtown (unproven) without a BIG name that wanted to occupy the space.

Should be exciting to see

Latest Updates: Boom times ahead for Downtown SD.

1. Holland Partner's Court Tower breaks ground very soon

2. Alexian Little Italy 36 story tower breaks ground in August

3. Pinnacle 2nd tower breaks ground in Oct.

4. 3rd and A tower is underway

5. Hotel tower on Cortez by 5th street will begin work in late summer

Just a few weeks ago, I thought it was over, but apparently, the residential and hotel developers, especially from Texas are bullish on SD. The rental market is cooling off but not as much as expected since people from Northern California are moving into SD areas due to lower prices.

Any rendering of the Hotel on Cortez hill Dirt Patch?

Also saw that the crane for the affordable housing tower in east village by father joes villages is up
https://imgur.com/a/ObKUfte
https://imgur.com/a/0BkwuQo

Just curious about where SD will build when there are no more lots to develop downtown? I know we got awhile but with SD’s height limit and limited space inside the downtown 5 freeway loop... Do u think towers will start spreading g south or north?? I have a feeling north towards bankers hill and hillcrest

Plenty, plenty of surface lots all over downtown to build high rises. Little Italy, Cortez Hill and East Village has plenty of them.

Nice. I do wonder how would things be if San Diego was the main city in Southern California. That would entail a lot.

Good news, but worried to not see 7th/Market listed. If other projects are able to get funding and proceed despite COVID-19, I wonder if that one will?

This is amazing to me. 2007-2008 saw construction grind to a halt. In the macro, this contraction may be several times worse. But construction motors on. Not that this high rise lover is complaining.

Does anybody know what's going up near St. Vincent de Paul on Imperial and 15th?

I'm hoping for a 40+ story megatall.:D

Luckily, the Financial/investment community is very bullish on San Diego regardless of temporary down or up market unlike even the more economic booming cities elsewhere in U.S.. For instance, Downtown San Jose to the north market has been very hot for office and housing with Google planned urban campus downtown, but it can't get a tower off the ground after the pandemic hit or any slow downs, after revealing so many projects. Almost none breaks ground: just talk but no walk, and the same goes for a lot of cities. Note* San Diego has much weaker economy than San Jose, which is the Capital of Silicon Valley with lots of momentum. High tech is still booming. Lenders are king and money rules. Lucky devil, San Diego!!