Looks like Ballpark Village got a slight redesign. It's now less colorful, and a tad shorter as well. Some other minor unique design elements seem to have been streamlined away as well.

In other news, CivicSD approved the design for Broadway Block with some minor design changes. Hope to see this one start soon.

The design for 4th and J was approved by CivicSD as well.

Only problem is the charm of Rockefeller Center is that it's an old, historic building that fit the style at the time. But you look at the construction now in NYC for example, they're not building vintage-style art-deco buildings; they're all glass, all sleek.

I think on a smaller scale, the old look would work, or when you build out a modern skyscraper from the base structure of an old building (Warehouse and Petco Park, etc). But I think these might stand out in the wrong way simply because they are brand new buildings, and don't really fit the architecture of the rest of downtown. Our downtown for the most part is not old and historic, and any city that does have an old downtown like NYC or SF are building sleek, modern skyscrapers now, not this type of stuff.

More on Papa Doug's Pacific Gateway on this video which just came out a few days ago...

https://youtu.be/KBM9QyP8rgA

The only comparison to NBC in a western coastal city I can think of (huge vacant land blank slate with new development right on the water) is Barangaroo in Sydney and here is what they are doing:

http://www.designboom.com/wp-content...nsydKPF_04.jpg

Looks much more modern and contemporary not just wanna be Rockefeller center. Good mix of height and fairly unique design.

Check google out for more/better renderings, I just posted this one because it shows the project in the context of the Sydney CBD.

Wow! That Barangaroo development is AMAZING! I especially love how they're complementing it with the nearby reserve...

Omg I'm in love with this! It has a very Art Deco feeling to it

I agree 100%. The NBC design looks like a bland, short knockoff of what folks here are saying is "Rockerfeller Center-like". (Not sure the architects intended that or not). Having Bosa with the sleek ocean-inspired design, the more west coast layed back feel of the embarcadero, and then this wanna be Art Deco thing stuck in the middle will, in my opinion, make the waterfront look very cookie-cutter and Dinsneyworld-ish. Like we have no cohesive plan, just a smattering of this and that. Maybe I'm being too critical and I hope I'll like it when built, but it seems really underwhelming to me. The taller towers do have a better look to them, but the shorter surrounding buildings are in no way worthy of that site. Still looks like an Irvine Business Park to me, as opposed to Rockerfeller Center.

One observation, re: NBC. I think it would look much better with the taller buildings as they are, but then instead of the bland shorter buildings a more modern glass wrap-around structure that would provide the contrast of more traditional and modern. It just seems so blah now, as Mellow pointed out that entire thing is the same beige color. I really do want to like it, but I don't. It's simply not a good design, especially for such an important location. In 50 years people on his board will be asking why it was allowed to go up and suggesting it be leveled and something more dynamic put in its place.

Not bad, looks like Irvine on steroids.

I don't understand this video. It has a lot of great shots of San Diego and has our mayor talking about how great our city is, then intermittently they flash images of Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles. Is this intentional? Is the implication that this will bring very high end retail reminiscent of Rodeo Drive, or did someone just screw up when making the video?

Nah, it definitely looked like somebody messed up.

That's my guess too. They kept talking about retail in the video, and it looks like the harbor facing buildings with the yellow awnings in the renderings might be geared towards high end retail. I'm guessing they wanted to put examples of upscale retail in the video but someone didn't realize the generic images they got were actually of LA.

Editorial piece in UT today that said Irwin Jacobs and Malin Burnham have been quietly planning to push for a mega airport at the South end of Camp Pendleton that would serve SD, Orange, and Riverside Counties. Also said that Lindbergh would stay open. Would this change your opinion on widening I-5? Those who are against it: If there was a massive 2 runway airport built people from South of I-8 are obviously going to have a treck and will want to take a car to make it fairly quick.

I was thinking why not close Lindbergh and make the Tijuana/Cross border facility much bigger to provide for those living in or visiting the southern part of the County. How many people from Orange County would drive south to use Pendleton airport instead of LAX? This is a very interesting development. Burnham and Jacobs would probably be dead by the time this comes to fruition so it is a family legacy project on their part.

If it's a "mega airport", it should be large enough to serve the entire SD metropolitan area. I don't see it being "mega" with only north county SD and south County OC passengers considering OC has John Wayne and SD has Lindbergh field. It's not unusual for an airport to be a good 30-40 miles from city center, looks at Denver as one example. It could work if it included better mass transit from downtown and South Bay up to Oceanside. But if the plan is to keep Lindbergh field open, I just don't see the point.

What I think makes the MOST sense is to move Miramar to Oceanside and have it next to Pendleton to form a large military center then put the "mega airport" where Miramar is now.

Yes it would be big enough to serve all of SD metro area plus OC, the rationale is that its so far from the south and east counties that Lindbergh would be kept open for some flights to serve those regions.

I totally agree with you about the Miramar solution but Jacobs and Burnham probably know it just isn't politically feasible and Scripps Ranch, UTC/University City, and La Jolla people would fight it to the death.

I don't think having differences in the buildings is a bad thing. Frankly, San Diego could use a lot of work in that regard.

One thing I like about the current Manchester rendering is that it appears to restore the street grid between PCH and Harbor.

http://www.manchesterpacificgateway.com/work.html

Direct from the website...

Office 1B
28-story, 865,235 SF Office Tower with 80,650 SF of Retail
The most prominent office tower of Manchester Pacific Gateway lies at the corner of Broadway Ave. and Pacific Hwy. Inspired by Rockefeller Center’s iconic office towers of the 1930’s, its vertical lines and floor to ceiling glass draw design influence from the art deco and international styles of this landmark project while providing a technology-forward smart building environment that will redefine downtown San Diego’s future workplace. Facing Broadway Green, this 28 story tower stands 400 feet tall and affords unobstructed sweeping views of the bay. Like Rock Center, the tower is topped by an observation deck and roof top lounge like no other in San Diego. In addressing the neighborhood’s urban design guidelines the tower steps back at the 4th, 9th and 25th floors providing opportunities for amenity decks for both private and shared use.

I believe there is a height limit on that parcel to avoid "walling off the bay" and maintain view corridors.

Also, this...

Convention Hotel
28-story, 1,009,000 SF, 1,200 Keys

The second hotel has 1,200 luxurious rooms that measure 400 square feet each, 80 penthouse suites, breakout rooms, two large ballrooms of 27,000 and 40,000 square feet, a grand lobby with bar, and 800 parking spaces. Amenities include luxury retail, elegant spa, ocean view pool deck, and rooftop bar and restaurants offering international cuisine to the most discerning diners. In addition, the hotel will have a state-of-the-art fitness center, a 40,000 square foot museum and exhibit hall, luxury jewelry stores and boutiques, VIP lounge and entertainment, world-class concierge services, and pedestrian access to the Manchester Pacific Gateway Paseo.

Does anybody know if operations within the current NAVFAC buildings north of Lane Field and south/east of the Wyndham hotel will move into the new NBC complex once it's built? Those buildings are taking up such prime real estate and some look like they were meant as temporary structures even though they were built in the 1950s.

I'd love to see those facilties razed along with the Wyndham. It would be the last waterfront site that could reasonably be developed.

I could see Lindberg staying open for the smaller airliners and commuter-heavy flights... Southwest, etc. Southwest might take the majority of it like Dallas Love Field. Business people would want to fly into Lindbergh still with the proximity to downtown. A mega-airport to the north would cater to the larger planes, longer flights, and increased overseas traffic. A-380 compatible, 777 and 787s, etc. East coast flights, no curfew on takeoffs or landings, etc.

I'm sure a cutoff track from the main tracks to the airport would be easy, with both MetroLink and Coaster access, or maybe they just make a stop north of Oceanside and a separate airport line that you switch to, with a satellite checkin/security center to handle just these passengers. Imagine taking the Coaster, doing your checkin and security off the site of the airport itself, and hopping off in the airport and going straight to your gate.