Those latest renderings are much better I feel. I appears that some sort of ornamental crown has been placed on top. I like these towers.

According to Wikipedia, Philippine Airlines will start serving San Diego pending a government approval.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindbergh_Field
Philippine Airlines (Manila, Vancouver) [pending gov't approval]

Big discussion about this over at airliners.net, a popular aviation forum. Apparently problems remain involving traffic rights granted by the Canadian gov't (as the flight would route through Vancouver), and the fact that the Philippines as a country might have its safety designation downgraded by int'l authorities, effectively eliminating any chance of operating new services to the United States.

If both of these problems can be worked out, flights could start by 4Q 2008.

It also says that due to SDs congestion and short runways, Tijuana Internation can be considered an alternate airport for our area.

They have a direct flight to Tokyo and are going to have Seoul and Pudong (Shanghai) by the end of this year according to the article

Maybe I'm crazy, but what is the value in a flight to Manila that goes through Vancouver???? That seems awfully far north to go somehwere awfully far south. If LA has a direct flight, wouldn't that be quicker?

I guess the only plus would be, if you don't get off the plane in VC, you would go through customs only in Manila and SD, saving the hassle of having to get luggage through customs then re-check for domestic flight as when you fly through LA

I think it's just based off of the huge Filipino populations in the San Diego and Vancouver metro areas. Nearly all of my Filipino friends (and I have a lot) make a yearly trip to and from the Philippines and they usually fly to Vancouver first anyways (via Air Canada and then connecting to Philippine Airlines). I don't know why. But that's just what they do.

You are crazy, but it's not your fault ;-).

Because of the curvature of the earth (or, rather, because of the way we misrepresent distances on maps), Vancouver is actually closer to Manila than LA is. In fact, the difference is rather large...roughly 800 miles. Additionally, because LA is farther away from Manila, PAL's aircraft must make a stop en route (usually in Guam) in order to take on more fuel. PAL's flights out of Vancouver can make it to Manila non-stop.

Perhaps ironically, then, flying SAN-YVR-MNL is actually less than 100 miles longer than doing LAX-GUM-MNL...which, when you add the hassle it takes to fly or drive up to LA, makes the journey much shorter for San Diego residents.

Anyway, I hope the issues get worked out soon. It is entirely conceivable that by the end of 2008 San Diego could have nonstop service to both Europe AND Asia!

I did not know that, i'ma get a globe and measure the distance between vancouver and manila as well as la and manila. :yes:

Here's a link to an article in today's Vancouver Sun regarding the proposed Philippine Airlines flight to San Diego. Let's hope it happens

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/n...a-ad71cd073e4c

A few more shots from the various webcams. Poor quality, but, oh well. -

Vantage Pointe
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...WebCam/vp1.jpg

Diegan/Setai
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...am/setai-1.jpg

Children's Museum
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...chilmuseum.jpg

Hilton
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...am/hilty-1.jpg

Aria looks finished
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...0WebCam/bp.jpg

Loft on 6th
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...m/lofts655.jpg

Strata site prep
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...m/strata-1.jpg

Looking down Harbor Drive
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...0WebCam/cc.jpg

View from Symphony Towers
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...0WebCam/gl.jpg

East Village skyline
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...WebCam/ev2.jpg

Hotel Del in between Harbor Club, with Mummy Island in the background
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...bCam/mummy.jpg

National City is growing up
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...lcitytower.jpg

Are those the naval housing in National City, or what project is that?

Yes

I know about the flight paths over the Pacific, I flew Thai airways nonstop to Bangkok from LA this summer, the flight pathe is usually northwest, not a hard north, then a turn west. A direct flight from SD or LA to Manila would, for example, reach as far (and further) north than Vancouver, but you would still be out in the Pacific west of VC when you got to that latitude

i thought they're in sd city limits?

Yeah the Pacific Beacon Naval Housing development is well in the San Diego end of the 32nd St. Naval Station...it's gonna be some sweet housing for enlisted sailors, i'll tell you that much.

http://pacificbeacon.com/

...that is not to say that National City isn't getting theirs now...there's some development (and redevelopment) completed or still going on, and a few others we're waiting for along National City Blvd...

My bad... I was indicating yes to the 'navy housing' part, not necessarily that the project is in National City.

Too bad they all look the same :(

I spoke with the General Contractor at TR PRoduce. They are currently building demising walls for the 15,000 sf space to break it up into 3 spaces. He did not know who was going to occupy them but he didn't think that they were all going to one user.


Wal-Mart goes small to take on UK's Tesco

By Jonathan Birchall in New York
Sunday Jan 13 2008 20:05
SCOOPWal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) will open small-format grocery stores in Arizona this year under the trade name, "Marketside", going head to head with the new Fresh & Easy markets being rolled out in the US by Tesco, the UK grocer.

The new pilot stores are about 20,000 sq ft, a 10th of the size of the Supercenters that have been driving Wal-Mart's growth over the past two decades.

The retailer has secured leases on four properties south-east of Phoenix, some of them only a mile from locations where Tesco is setting up its 10,000 sq ft discount grocery stores.

The stores, likely to be open by the summer, are the first new concept launched by the retailer in the US for a decade, and are being developed as the company slows its planned growth of Supercenters.

Unlike the giant stores, the planning process for the new Marketside stores does not require public consultation, potentially creating a way for Wal-Mart to grow into cities and states where its Supercenter expansion has been slowed by union-backed political opposition.

In addition to its 2,435 US Supercenters, Wal-Mart also sells food at 128 Neighborhood Markets, a grocery format the company launched in 1998.

Wal-Mart declined to give details of the new stores, but the company characterised them as comparable with its existing Neighborhood Markets, which it uses to "fill in" between Supercenters. At about 35,000 sq ft, the Neighborhood Markets are roughly the size of a traditional US supermarket.

"We trial and test lots of different new formats and this would be an example of that," the company said.

But its new logo, filed in planning documents in Arizona and consisting of green lettering with a stylised tomato, egg and grape topped by a Wal-Mart blue star, suggests the format will - like Tesco's Fresh & Easy - have a far stronger stress on fresh foods.

The retailer has also registered a number of new trade names in recent months, such as City Thyme and Field & Vine, which some industry analysts believe could be used for new private-label fresh-food offerings.

Wal-Mart recently hired Jack Sinclair, a veteran of the UK grocery industry, to head its supermarket business.

Operating the smaller stores is likely to require a significant shift in an operation developed to serve the Supercenter.

All the stores are in street-corner properties that were formerly occupied by drug stores. The company has applied for wine and beer licences for stores in the fast-growing cities of Gilbert, Tempe and Mesa, and has additional leases in the city of Chandler.

There are already 12 Supercenters and five Neighborhood Markets in the Arizona area. All the buildings were previously drug stores that were acquired and then sold off by CVS, the pharmacy group, as part of the break-up of the old Albertson's supermarket group in 2006.

The four stores are located at:

Mesa: 7561 E Baseline RoadGilbert: 910 E Elliott RoadChandler: 950 N McQueen RoadTempe: 838 W Elliott Road.

Ok guys time for some updates if there are any so here are my questions:

Anyone heard any news on the huge Marriot Project right behind Petco??

Any idea of a construction timeline for Lane Field ----- NBC ----- And the old police headquarters???? All of these projects are lagging big time!

News on that huge 47 floor hotel on Columbia Street? I really do like that project.

That is all for now, I just haven't really heard these things addressed in quite a long time so I appreciate anyone who has any insite on these projects. :cheers:

Simple, the lack of funding and the overall economy along with lawsuits will delay these for a few more years.

?

Any news on Pinnacle project or 16th and Island project?
 

The future cafe for the park at 14th and Island has been finished for a while now, and last summer they put up the construction fence to presumably start on the park and then demo the warehouses for the new Pinnacle tower.
I haven't seen any activity there for months. Does anyone know anything about this project?
Also, the DR. Horton owned site at 16th and Island is going through soil remediation right now and last I heard construction was to start this fall. Does anyone know if this is still gonna happen? Thanks.

I havenot heard or seen a darn thing. But you gotta think... those projects will take 2 years to construct and complete. By then I'd like to think the housing melt down would have settled and the market to sell condo's had improved????

The last time I drove by the Pinnacle site it seemed I witnessed activity in the warehouses, or immediately adjacent. But it was not construction or demo related. It looked like light business activity.

What is the Pinnacle project?????? can't find anything on it on the internet or ccdc page

15th & Island?

I found a nighttime construction picture of convention center Hilton...this is going to be one sexy tower!

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...f/Progress.jpg

(Photos by me)

...and also, a topped out Electra:

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...lf/Electra.jpg

Now, if only City of SD lifts the 500 foot limit for the area more than one mile from the airport, we'll be in good shape! maybe not in my lifetime, but... :haha:

I've been meaning to add (without pics unfortunately) that the La Jolla Commons office tower is now at 13 floors. It had been stuck at 8 for many months while they apparently worked on the interior floors and have now framed the steel to 13.

The costa verde tower is having the scaffolding taken down and they are also repainting the older towers a horribly pukey yellow.

That is all...

Pics or it didn't happen.

It is E70 on the interactive map. Estimated start time is summer 2008, and finish 2010.
I noticed the DR Horton project on 16th and Island is no longer on the map. That is the answer I guess. I hope DR Horton sells the lot to someone who will develop it instead of DR Horton just leaving it empty for years and years.

Its good to see the Thomas Jefferson School of Law is now on the map.

Anyone know anything about the harbor drive pedestrian bridge. The interactive map says it went open for Bid in December 2007. Is it a long process to pick a contractor? The site has no estimated start or completion date.

I apologize if this was posted while I was on vacation the past few weeks. I saw it mentioned in this month's San Diego Metro feature on Nancy Graham and CCDC's plans for 2008, I found the RFQ on ccdc.com from 1/4/08, it looks like we're getting a park at Two America Plaza across from Santa Fe Depot. From the RFP:

"CCDC is seeking an urban park planning, design and engineering team to
provide consulting services for a proposed park/urban plaza at a site
currently referred to as “Two America Plaza” in downtown San Diego. The
park/urban plaza will be located above an existing underground parking
facility and will include exterior and interior spaces requiring landscape
architectural, architectural and engineering expertise."

I drove by today, took out my phone to take a pic, pressed the button, took the picture, and said..."memory full can not save."

Damn.:(

Anybody heard of "El Tigre International Airport" in Ensenada?

^^^^^According to Wikipedia, it's a military airbase. Why do you ask?


This is news to me. Not that it's a bad thing, but don't the proposed parks at NBC and the Promenade fullfill the area's greenspace quota?


From CCDC -

IM Pei

This detailed document includes some ground level renderings (Art Work) towards the end that we haven't seen before. It says they hope for a mid-2008 ground breaking. We'll have to see about that one. http://www.ccdc.com/events/resources...20Broadway.pdf

Check out the "oh so subtle" changes (Crown and windows) made to the IM Pei tower, which is now called 880 West Broadway. Make sure you click on the Project Images to see the tower superimposed into the skyline. Before you all get excited, it's not that different from the original proposal, but I think the changes are an improvement.


Kettner & Ash

This proposed Bosa tower is described as a trapezoid which could be cool. CCDC describes this 414' tower as iconic. I just hope they weren't on crack when they said this.
http://www.ccdc.com/events/resources...0and%20Ash.pdfa


Lumina (formerly Embassy1414)

I'm glad this one is still alive. What's with the name change, though? It's also shrunk in size and will incorporate a hotel component.
http://www.ccdc.com/events/resources...-%20Lumina.pdf

I heard it was supposedly starting construction (El Tigre I mean) this year with direct flights to multiple overseas locations, as well as South America. It is meant to serve the entire San Diego-Tijuana metropolitan area. I found it on Ensenada's Wikipedia page.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ensenada

From Wikipedia -

El Tigre International Airport

An international airport is to be built at km. 80 of the Tijuana-Ensenada toll road. It will be the third airport serving the greater San Diego-Tijuana metropolitan area, together with the other two major airports of Tijuana and San Diego. Construction is expected to begin on the first quarter of 2008 and initial investment is estimated at around $230 million dollars. The airstrip will be able to receive large aircraft including the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 747. International flights to Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, Tokyo, Frankfurt and Bogotá are planned.[1]


It might be cool to have commuter flights(or express buses) from Lindbergh and Carlsbad to El Tigre. I'd much rather do that than go thru the Tom Bradley terminal at LAX to fly internationally. That place is always a mess.

It's kinda sad that we have to depend on Ensenada for international flights.

^^ To say the least.

What are the changes made to 880 (formerly 700) West Broadway? All of the project images that appear now look exactly the same as what was on there before.

700 Block is at Santa Fe station. This proposal is just for the public art (canopy)

R.I.P. OAP.:(

R.I.P. Two America Plaza too...

Change is good. Although we may tend to take it for granted, the waterfront area desparately needs it.

^At least there are plans to revitalize the waterfront, bay way of the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan. The area is dire need of revitalization is C Street and that area of downtown. I didn't truly appreciate the need for it until Thursday night when I took the trolley downtown to go out with some friends. To say it's scary is really an understatement. Disgraceful is another term to describe it now with the redevelopment that has taken place in the East Village and the fact that Smart Corner is now located where the blue/orange line curves into that area.

Yes, C Street needs a face lift. The issue is how to do that while maintaining the function of the street. More people are on those trains, and headed to Centre City trolley stations, than any street in downtown San Diego. Broadway is perhaps the only exception..., and that's because of all the buses. And the rider levels there is logical because Centre City is where the largest share of jobs, retail, and continuous activity is located. But on C Street, there are competing interests for the design of the corridor... and they can be characterized as one is "function based" and one is "form based."

I just wish the IM Pei tower didn't block OAP like that. It's not that I don't like his design, it's just that I like OAP's design better. I would love to see his tower in a different spot.

not exactly in SD
 

I went to las americas not too long ago and noticed some new highrises just over the border, do guys know what it is and how big are they? I took a pic too.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2104/...65ca7e.jpg?v=0

Those are the NewCity Residencial towers which range from 24 to 27 floors and range from 291 to 334 feet

What do people think of the proposal to build a new Charger Stadium over the 10th Avenue Marine Terminal? By chance I caught Forefront (?) over the weekend and an interview with Peter Quest (?), the first CCDC director. It seemed the interview was done very recently as they discussed the stadium idea at the site. Noted was that the Marine Terminal is largely empty, at least by first impressions, and that it's subsidized each year to the tune of about $10 million. In other words, it costs more to maintain than it generates in revenue for the Port Authority.

Functionally, I can't imagine how a stadium could sit atop a dock and not affect cargo operations. Concet drawings would be very helpful to understand this idea.

It also seems a very steep hill for the propser to get this idea into any acceptable stage given that the Port seems to have a higher authority than the cities sittign on the Port's Board of Directors; like to the state.

^^Thanks, nice to see new developments in TJ, even if the architecture is a little, uhh... costa verde-esque? I really do love the drive down the 805 and seeing all the lights in mexico down there, so it'll be cool to see a new skyline.

I'd really rather see a major civic project get off the ground before another stadium what about the new main LIBRARY

That can wait.

New Chargers stadium please!