That is the thing I don't really like about 15th and Island is that its so off on its own looks a little lame from some angles. I think Ball Park Village will really help to balance it out and hopefully a tall building at the Library Tower site.

Oh also wanted to note that I saw construction equipment behind the Evolution/Extraordinary deserts on 6th Ave. What is going up there? Broadstone is looking pretty good and VUE is a giant hole so at least some activity is cranking up in Bankers Hill.

A while back, I was looking into old San Diego trolley lines and was shocked to see OB to PB via Mission Beach line. Turns out vehicles used to be able to drive from Mission Blvd to W. Point Loma blvd in OB.

Could you guys imagine if this link were to be restored?

I've been looking at old maps of SD. I didn't realize that the SD River used to empty out in the Big Bay, where the present day Marine Base and Airport are.

http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpresse...b01z_00124.jpg
http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpresse...b01z_00124.jpg

15th & Island plus Sempra as seen from my hood (Sherman Heights)

It's amazing how fast Sempra shot up!

Does anybody know if it has topped out?

http://i.imgur.com/TgOdGTH.jpg

South Mission and the North end of OB feel kind of cul de sacish and cut off from the rest of town because of the channel for Mission bay. That setup in the pic is so much better. It sucks that the only way to get between the two beach areas is by car, think about if you are in SM you have to cut back north then go east to go south ugh such a pain.

Pretty good article in the UT regarding the Sunroad Spectrum residential development. The head of Sunroad said he wishes they could have put more rentals in there citing demand being very high. Hopefully then can find some other sites in Kearny Mesa to redevelop and add more density. Sad how they theoretically could have packed another 1000 units in there because demand is strong.

Just checked satellite image and there are still 4 empty lots near Spectrum one is huge, so hopefully nice mixed use projects could go in there.

They are co-dependant to an extent, but environmental reviews in CA have become impractical. A mojave solar project drew opposition and reductions in power generation because of 25 tortoises that would need to be relocated. The EIR that determined that impact took..... 2.5 years. We have a system where every special interest gets to nominate a sacred cow species of endangered magic unicorn crickets, and in the end everything is bogged down or simply made illegal. We have these massive EIR's taking years to complete so that every micro-view environmental concern is addressed, but we lose the macro view - the big picture. By not moving 25 turtles, how much damage are we doing with the alternative? Since that impact occurs at a coal fired power plant in another state, most Californians don't care.

Obviously building a tower near the coast has more enrivonmental impact than leaving the space as a park. But in the big picture, isn't it better than building 50 single family homes elsewhere? Most of this environmental lip service is really about people protecting the area where they live rather than the environment as a whole. I think many "environmentalists" are NIMBYs and anti-density people hiding behind a more politically correct facade, and environmental reviews are their well disguised weapon. Transit projects sitting in 3-4 years of EIRs is just collateral damage.

Well said

There's a tower crane up north of Hawthorne and Pacific Hwy.

That's another dual branded Hilton property going up. Here's a UT article from a while back with some details:

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/...eloper-takes-/

Thanks! With so much activity around, I'm getting confused as to what's what. The tower crane is pretty short right now.

Looks like the Montage Hotel at 5th and Island/J is finally fenced off. This is about as monumental as Lane Field. Thought this project would never get going after the eminent domain debacle.

I'm excited to see what restaurant offerings the Pendry will have at ground floor -- Montage Hotels are known for their impeccable service. This will be something a bit different for the Gaslamp.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/...dential-tower/

Here's a new article about the tower approved at 7th and A. As someone not from the banana republic of California, I have never seemed to be able to fully grasp why someone would have to pay an extra 2.6 million dollars in order to not have to build any affordable units. I really do wonder where that money goes.....

Here's a pic. The design fits well for in between the Financial District and Cortez Hill. Will be great to see this go in alongside the new Hilton property on the same block.

http://media.utsandiego.com/img/phot...8a41b9b1684c1a

http://media.utsandiego.com/img/phot...8a41b9b1684c1a

Serious question for you guys about how I or together we could do something big for SD. Chivas USA MLS team in LA is gone and the plan according to all articles is an investment group bought rights to a new franchise and wants to build a soccer facility near Hollywood Park or "Somewhere near LAX" not sure if its El Segundo on South side or Playa Vista on North.

We all know San Diego would be a great MLS town. Is there anyway to change this investment groups mind about putting a team here instead of being #2 in LA. All the comments I read on ESPN article about this say LA doesn't need a second team and to give another market a chance. Even people in LA say a second team is stupid its a Galaxy town.

So I'm thinking about informing Kevin Faulconer about this and having him reach out to the group. They are going to pay for the entire stadium only about 150 million to 200 million but they might want a deal on land. What do you guys think could Faulconer convince them to move here instead? Let me know what suggestions you guys have. :cheers:

I've always liked the idea of a soccer stadium on the site of old Balboa Stadium. I don't see why SDHS couldn't keep using it.

... and I seem to remember something about San Diego leading the country in viewership of the World Cup.

Move them to SD, and brand them as the Sockers!

Affordable housing in CA is a joke. Basically we put in tons of regulations that make housing really expensive (low density zoning, height restrictions, parking minimums, absurd environmental restrictions, etc.), then raise that cost even more with fees to gift below market housing to a very lucky few. For this particular project, each underground parking space is probably around $40k, and that 2.6 mil fee breaks down to probably $15-20k per unit. Obviously the wealthy won't feel that pinch, but these policies hurt a huge swath of the working class for the benefit of an incredibly small group of lottery winners.

And of course, rather than spend that money where they can help the most people, they put the units mixed in with other developments. Why build 60 affordable units in the outer east village/golden hill, when you can 20 units in towers in the marina?



Brilliant idea in, would be a perfect fit in SD, both for the city and the team. And how often are sports teams willing to pay for their own stadiums?!

Yes, San Diego would be a great city for soccer. Reminds me of this article from The Guardian about San Diego being a very soccer-friendly city:

The San Diego mystery: America’s soccer-crazy city seeks top-flight team
Adam Elder
12 August 2014
http://www.theguardian.com/football/...ccer-crazy-mls

Yesterday I saw some construction equipment, a construction trailer, and porta-potties at the Horton Plaza Park location in downtown. Perhaps they will continue work before too long.

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/i...ZlWkx3jTBspQMg