Originally Posted by mello (Post 10217632)

I thought this whole thing was built for Biotech and had companies ready to move in that is why this RADD company paid for such expensive land to build this space on. Don't tell me this project doesn't have tenants for all the office and lab space :shrug: The retail is one thing but if this is going to be an empty white elephant biotech project good grief... There was an article in the UT about Biotech in the County being at a 14% vacancy rate and there is still tons of space in the pipeline that is UC and will be ready this year or by next summer.

Originally Posted by FromSD (Post 10218744)

I'm not in the commercial real estate industry, but it's seemed for a long time that Downtown San Diego has lagged as a job center for the region. The Downtown skyline has grown dramatically in the last 20 years, but the growth has been almost exclusively high rise condos and apartments. When was the last commercial skyscraper topped out Downtown? The new Sempra headquarters a few years back? And even that building isn't particularly tall. And it was added to the skyline only after Sempra moved out of their old asbestos-ridden headquarters on Ash Street (which was all of 50 years old).

So I'm inclined to give the IQHQ/RaDD folks credit for at least trying to make something happen for Downtown as a bio-tech hub. If they had tenants lined up in 2019, its quite possible that those prospects evaporated. I imagine that 5 years is a very long time in commercial real estate, especially in an industry as dynamic as bio-tech.

As far as Downtown being a job center, it doesn't help that the City seems hell-bent on dispersing employees from Downtown to more suburban locations. The City wants to move employees from the City Operations Building to Mission Valley because that building has exceeded its useful life due to shoddy maintenance practices. This is another building that is barely 50 years old. Downtown has the best public transit connections in the entire country--by far. Employees working in Mission Valley will be much less likely to take public transit, even if MV does have one trolley line. So much for the City's commitment to meeting its very ambitious carbon emissions reduction goals.

Originally Posted by Andy-4-SD (Post 10205211)

Interest rates are making it tough. Construction is going to be down across the board likely for the next few years... Not going to see a ton of change until either borrowing costs come down or rents come up enough for deals to make sense again. Unfortunately, with rates staying higher for longer, it's more likely than not to be the latter.

Originally Posted by SamFlood (Post 10223483)

Whatever Happened to the Campus at Horton Plaza? Also they've fenced off the park which should be left as is.

Originally Posted by JerellO (Post 10226733)

The RaDd site is such a great location..

Originally Posted by JerellO (Post 10226733)

The RaDd site is such a great location.. not only do you have multiple freeway access, but the trolley lines a block away and our international airport 3 miles north. Also the convention center is just down the street. Beautiful views of the bay, walkability to restaurants and bars downtown. Parks and museums across the street.

Originally Posted by Thatguyoverwhere (Post 10230525)

As someone who was recently laid off from a local biotech company, I can say the industry is definitely in an anti-expansion mindset right now, especially when it comes to real estate. However, things are bound to ramp back up sooner or later, at which point I could see this property becoming the new "flagship" office for one of the large biotech companies. Otherwise, this is still prime office space in an unbeatable location, and I'd have to assume it won't be long before someone leases it out.

Originally Posted by Jhanson312 (Post 10230940)

Until then, this development should be branded as a landmark retail destination “with some office space”. It’s in great location with high foot traffic. I think it has the potential to outshine Seaport Village if they lease some cool tenants.