Nice! Soon the Pepper Canyon towers will start rising directly behind it. UCSD is rife with projects right now. There are a series of towers at its southwestern corner that are clearly visible from the beach at La Jolla Shores as well. It's my alma mater so I'm always excited to see what's going on there.

EDIT: also realized that after 20+ years I finally reached 500 posts.

Good to finally see digging equipment on the Clairemont Dr site across from Trolley stop I heard it is now going to be 300 apartments from Zephyr Development. That empty lot is such an eyesore.

I have also noticed 2 parcels on El Cajon Blvd that have been demolished and cleared yet no construction has started. One is near Ohio St the other further west at Louisiana. Hopefully things get moving there soon.

Random question: Why is Civita taking its sweet time building out all of those flat parcels in the lower section of their property? The newer apartments have now been complete for over a year. Why are they phasing things out super slowly? You would think with demand being so high and a recession looming they would want to pump out as many units as possible. Thanks.

City, SDSU moving forward with plans for Mission Valley bridge over San Diego River

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com...an-diego-river

Always thought they could put a bridge there to relieve traffic issues.

Ok some rinky dink bridge that is awesome but when are we going to get the construction timeline on the 4500 housing units for students and teachers and 2.5 million square feet of campus expansion space? I haven't heard anything about this. We voted in 2018 to have SDSU step up and be more like UCSD and rapidly expand, so lets get rolling folks :shrug:

Bummer about the Padres. At least you guys were able to take down the Dodgers though.

Runaway success for all these new office buildings being built downtown including Horton Plaza redo with bioscience companies filling the spaces quickly definitely will be the case, and it will excel the downtown core to BE THE SPOT in the whole metro for live/work and play. World class city!!!!!!

Major League Soccer moves closer to San Diego expansion

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com...dragon-stadium

SD can be considered world class when our best assets are made accessible and sustainable. Perhaps the best weather of any major city in the world, yet most of the time you need to be stuck in a car to live any kind of convenient lifestyle. And biking infrastucture is still way too meager for most to feel safe doing it. The most vibrant neighborhoods we have feel pretty dead pedestrian-wise compared to other tighter knit cities. Everything great is spread pretty far apart here.

Downtown is truly on it's way to being great (having new actual office workers moving in will help a lot!), but it's still missing a lot for residents and feels pretty dead outside of major events or tourist enclaves. I live there, so I'm not necessarily hating on it as I enjoy it how it is. But world-class it is not.

https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/d...al-no-logo.jpg

Manchester debuts plans for 36-story bay-view hotel that would be one of the largest in San Diego
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com...c-gateway-site

Two years after selling off much of its 12-acre site downtown, Manchester Financial Group will soon submit plans for a 1,150-room hotel near Broadway and Pacific Highway.

Developer Doug Manchester, who is responsible for building San Diego’s single biggest hotel, is close to submitting plans for a new 36-story, 1,150-room hotel tower that would be located just a block from the downtown waterfront.

While a large convention hotel was always destined for what is a Navy-owned site going back more than 30 years ago, it was only in the last few years that the Manchester Financial Group began working on — and designing — the current $550 million project.

It will also likely be the last big hotel development undertaken by the 80-year-old Manchester, says Ted Eldredge, president of the financial group. Manchester developed the 1,628-room Manchester Grand Hyatt near the city’s bayfront convention center, as well as the Fairmont Grand Del Mar in Carmel Valley. He no longer owns either one.

What remains a big unknown is whether Manchester Financial will be able to secure financing and an equity partner in the current economic environment of rapidly escalating interest rates and construction costs.

The near-term plan, Eldredge said, is to submit plans to the city of San Diego some time in November for the purpose of eventually obtaining building permits. If Manchester Financial Group is successful in securing financing next year, the hotel could potentially be under construction by the very end of 2023 or early 2024, Eldredge estimates.

He expects that construction would take about 30 months. Manchester Financial is currently in talks with a luxury hotel chain to operate the property, he added.

Designing the new hotel is San Diego-based Gensler, which describes the look as a contemporary design, with Art Deco and mid-century modern influences. The all-glass facade is accented with bronze and gold tones, and the lower level of the structure has a creamy limestone exterior. Interior spaces are embellished with plush blue fabrics, backlit crystal and large-scale art installations.

The more contemporary look is a definite change of pace for Manchester, whose previous projects bespoke a more old world grandeur with heavier, more ornate furnishings.

“We wanted to create a sense of place unique to the waterfront, so the design relates to our climate in terms of having meeting space and restaurants and bars that open to the outdoors and spill out onto the plaza and the park, so it’s not just glass walls,” said J. Kevin Heinly, a managing director with Gensler. “The use of bronze metals and their warmth harken back to art deco, and the bronze cap on top of the building will be illuminated. So bronze is used throughout the project, whether it’s decorative metal around the elevators or in the restaurants and bars.”

https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/d...-hotel-map.jpg

https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/d...%2Flobby-2.jpg

https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/d...-logo-edit.jpg

https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/d...manchester.jpg

A mediocre disappointment, much like the rest of the projects on this block.

Manchester Hotel
 

What would make the hotel stand out, would be a huge sculpture, right on Harbor Drive. Something like the “bean” in Chicago. A passive little park won’t cut it. Right now the waterfront looks boring. We need “Art”. Something that will attract people. Wake up, San Diego.

https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/d...al-no-logo.jpg

This would be a great filler tower. It's bulky, I can appreciate the gold accents (even if it's a bit 70's looking), and has some decent height.

That said, this tower will be the face of San Diego forever. Nothing will rise in front of it to block it out. It's also the tallest building in the Pacific Gateway section of blocks. With that in mind, I want something high quality that stands out. I'd prefer something less bulky, but I suppose the massing is more-or-less set in stone. But the facade should be exciting and stand out.

Sadly, a lot of this article talks about financing concerns, so if anything we'll get either this design or a value engineered version of it. :(

Exactly. It has a whiff of mid-70s Tulsa Holiday Inn. To me the best case scenario is that they don’t get their financing and someone goes back to the drawing board for a new design. The bulkiness, the gold and brown accent colors, the way the entrance is buried underneath the massive amenities podium…it’s all aggressively bland, and it certainly doesn’t deserve such a prominent location on the waterfront.

Uh they are just now "submitting plans" I thought they had already done all of this and the hotel was set to break ground any day now. Wow what have they been doing this whole time? They had all these plans and supposedly financing in place years ago. Now with the Fed continuing to hike rates and massive energy crisis in Europe about to drag down the world economy he goes out and looks for financing. Real smart old Dougie... not sure this one will make it...

Wow, it's literally just a box. They really went all-out on this one.

Now I understand when someone uses the term "Mid".
It looks like it was designed by Lego.

Same with the Ritz Carlton project (7th/Market).

Is that project still alive? That’s another one that supposedly had financing lined-up years ago and it’s still a parking lot. The design came out in 2015 I believe and nothing yet.

If it is still happening, is its trajectory the same as Manchester’s hotel? Not sure downtown SD would be able to support two huge luxury hotels hitting the market at the same time.

I really like Pacific Gate, that’s not a mediocre tower. But I’m worried this nasty, tacky gold behemoth Manchester is proposing will draw all the attention and not in a good way.

The towers along harbor have lots of blue and glass not sure why Manchester and his team think a 70s-pimp style building with gaudy gold accents and dark brown would fit in there.

Time will tell: very encouraged

Pacific Gate wouldn't be considered part of that block, so I don't think they were referring to that one as mediocre. But yeah, it's really a shame that this tower is going to cover up Pacific Gate. That and One America Plaza served as great landmark towers downtown. This box will just be... there. Bosa needs to go all out on their sister tower to Pacific Gate.

Seaport village is going to take care of that with the observation tower. Art like the "Bean" will attract people already in the city, you don't travel to Chicago just to see the Bean. What will attract people to the waterfront will be good restaurants and other attractions, concerts, nightlife, outdoor spaces that are lively, etc. A cool sculpture or art installation would just be icing on the cake.

Yeah, we need Seaport Village redeveloped ASAP. Regarding artworks, I agree a sculpture or something at that site would be a nice addition, but it wouldn't be the main attraction. It would probably be like the oversized "Pacific Soul" sculpture outside Pacific Gate. It's pretty cool.

But unless it's absolutely massive, that kind of art wouldn't require newsworthy proposals/approvals, etc. It could very well happen and we won't know about it until right before installation.



Speaking of absolutely massive waterfront artwork proposals, does anyone remember the Wings of Freedom or that giant Neptune statue proposal from over a decade ago?

https://cdn.kpbs.org/dims4/default/f...F16%2Fcam2.jpg

https://i0.wp.com/voiceofsandiego.or...02/neptune.jpg

Wow, those sculptures would have been amazing. What happened to the proposals - too bold?



And to be clear on the earlier convo, I was not calling Pacific Gate mid - it's one of the best towers in the city IMO. My disappointment only extends to the stuff on the IQHQ/navy block, and of course this Manchester project.

I agree 100%. This hideous box will block one of the waterfront's prettiest buildings.

East Village Green has a construction cam. Downtown should have more cams.
The Gaslamp especially should have a live one.

https://app.oxblue.com/open/Barnhart...stVillageGreen


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...dd46dcaa_b.jpg

Measure C up by the slimmest of margins...

Hopefully it stays that way

This should pass, but it'll be close... Big issue with the Sports Arena redevelopment is even if they get this passed, idk how this project gets off the ground. There is far too much affordable housing for the deal to pencil. Combine that with the massive uptick in borrowing costs we've seen in recent months, and it gets even tougher.

Gloria picked the winning group based on having the most affordable housing units. Unfortunately, most of our politicians don't understand the financials and I can't see it being financially feasible in today's environment. If you're trying to solve a housing crisis, market-rate housing is better than no housing.

I wouldn't be surprised to see this built in phases, and likely be renegotiated with the city to lower % of afforadable units. Will take a while to get off the ground. Would love to see it get done, cautiously optimistic.

Speaking of the Waterfront
 

What ever happened to the Embarcadero modernization plan? They did that little Part at the end of Broadway for a couple hundred yards what 7 years ago now :shrug: Its almost 2023, I remember years ago when we were discussing it that the whole thing should have been done by now all the way to the Hornblower boats on the North side before Harbor curves towards the airport.
Has anyone heard about this or did funding get allocated somewhere else and it isn't going to happen...

Oh wow you're right. I kind of gave up waiting on updates to the north Embarcadero to the point I forgot it was ever supposed to happen. It felt like it took them decades to just fix up the two blocks between Navy Pier and B Street Pier. That area was done well, but it's such a small piece of the waterfront. The rest is just a long old stretch of sidewalk wedged between the water and parking strips.

Googling doesn't help, everything just talks about Seaport Village (another project which I fear will fall off the radar 10 years from now)

NAVWAR open for bids now.

Wondering what realistic height limits would be for any NAVWAR redevelopment. I know the study they did a while back said 300+ feet but given the proximity to the airport I can't imagine that would be cool w FAA. Maybe on the farthest north end of the project.

I also saw someone on twitter suggest building a park over the section of the 5 adjacent to the NAVWAR complex (kind of like the one in Dallas) which would bridge the new development and Old Town. Great idea imo but seems like the kind of thing that would take this city half a century just to start construction.

Agreed, a park over the 5 freeway there would be incredible.

I don't think a park over the 5 at that location is feasible.

Usually for those ideas the freeway is sunken and they put a "lid" on it.

The 5 at that point is raised over ground level.

A more feasible idea would be to put a "lid" park at the downtown S turn and/or over the 94 just east of downtown.

Same thing happened to North Embarcadero that happens to most every plan that never seems to go anywhere, it got stuck between resistance to change and a lack of funding.

In order to make space for all that you have to remove all the parking. Officially the plan is to build a parking structure a block north of the county admin building, but that's expensive and all the harborfront businesses don't want that because then everyone will head over to little Italy instead of walking the quarter-mile to visit them.

Now that the Navy finally has a new HQ though the Port has acquired the old secondary offices just north of the Marriott. There's a plan to build a sort of parking/transit hub there but it's real early stage. Needs a private developer to step up to the bat, there's some talks but nothing solid yet last I heard.

The FAA would greatly prefer if things kept under 170ft, but their rules say you can go from 350ft at the south end up to 600ft at the northern one. Those figures are in MSL, so subtract whatever the ground elevation is to get height above ground. Also CalTrans will veto anything over 500ft above ground even if it would otherwise be allowed.

https://i.imgur.com/Cp7yDEg.jpg

I thought that parking lot north of the Waterfront Park was a no go because Solar Turbines owned it?

And I didn't realize the port acquired those old Navy offices. I really hope something good goes there. Such an oddly utilized space, but it's ripe for something big. Hopefully it's not just a lowrise garage and bus turnaround.

It's my understanding Solar Turbines just leases the lot. Now I'm sure they'd throw a fit if the Port takes away all their parking, which means it will have to be replaced, but I don't think would have to eminent domain the lot. Anyway it's marked for a transit hub/parking structure in the port master plan.

Nope :)

https://i.imgur.com/w12PrbT.png

:previous:
Will, You say above "CalTrans will veto anything over 500 ft above ground level even if it would otherwise be allowed". I can understand the FAA having a say in height limits because of the airport, but why should CalTrans care about height limits or have a veto on them? :koko:

14 Cranes & RaDD Topped Out
 

The crane at Simone came down recently and the RaDD's last building topped out last week.

0 Cranes - Simone, Alexan Little Italy, Trammell Crow Residential, Union & Ash, https://www.crowholdings.com/alexan-little-italy
0 Cranes - One Broadway Hotel, Manchester Pacific Gateway, Manchester Financial, Broadway & Pacific Hwy, https://www.manchesterpacificgateway.com/
1 Crane - RaDD Block 2A, IQHQ, https://iqhqreit.com/project/radd/
2 Cranes - RaDD Block 2B, IQHQ, https://iqhqreit.com/project/radd/
1 Crane - RaDD Block 3A, IQHQ, https://iqhqreit.com/project/radd/
1 Crane - RaDD Block 4A, IQHQ, https://iqhqreit.com/project/radd/
1 Crane - RaDD Block 4B, IQHQ, Harbor Drive & Pacific Hwy, https://iqhqreit.com/project/radd/
1 Crane - 8th & B 9th Ave. & B St., Bosa, 8th & B, https://thinkbosa.com/project/ninth-avenue-b-street/
1 Crane - 800 Broadway, CA Ventures, 8th & Broadway
1 Crane - West, Courthouse Commons, Holland Partners, Union & Broadway
1 Crane - Radian, Cisterra, 9th & G, https://www.cisterra.com/radian
1 Crane - The Lindley, Milano, Toll Brothers, Columbia & Ash, https://www.livethelindley.com/
1 Crane - Broadway Towers (Tower 2), Pinnacle International, 11th & Broadway, https://broadwaytowers.com/
1 Crane - Jefferson Makers Quarter, JPI Development, 15th & Broadway
1 Crane - Elevate Hotel, K Elevate 10th Street Property, LLC, 10th & Island

8th & Broadway

https://i.imgur.com/noB96IQl.jpg

Dammit. While I like the reintegration of the street grid, a max height of 200' on the tallest lot is ridiculous.

From what I recall discussed elsewhere on this thread, Caltrans has permitting authority over any structures within the state that exceed 500 feet. Caltrans also has a rule where they don't permit structures above 500 feet within x distance of an airport. Downtown falls within that distance.

So even if the FAA would be fine with certain-sized structures near airports in other states, Caltrans doesn't make exceptions.

I'm surprised nobody has commented yet on the NAVWAR proposal. If it came to pass according to what the navy wants, it could include many hi rises and midrises. Apartments, offices, transit center. Potentially huge. Could someone post the pictures shown on TV? Some of the buildings shown appeared to be over 20 floors, or 30.

Where are all the people who follow SD projects? The last post besides this one was November 28!

Looks like Tijuana has a new 3 story mall with many shops like H&M, Sephora, and Inditex Group stores like Zara, Zara Home!!, Pull & Bear and Bimba y Lola and other shops available in Europe and Mexico. Nearest place I was able to find these were in Mexico City so thats exciting to have so close to San Diego now. https://www.jerde.com/files/peninsul...crop_13371.png

https://www.jerde.com/projects/8248/peninsula

I believe the EIS preferred alternative had max height of 350 ft. The vibe I was getting judging from the little yard posters that used to be around is Mission Hills (and to a lesser extent, Point Loma) was PISSED.

https://navwar-revitalization.com/draft-eis/

The Tijuana river will never be that clean. :haha:

Nice looking project for Tijuana what is its status? Not under construction yet I assume. Tijuana has a history of many nice glossy grand proposals that never get built so hopefully this one happens. Heading in to these tough economic times not sure it will get financing if they don't already have it.

-------- Downtown Project update. On 4th between J and K there is a Notice of Application sign on an old funky structure saying that a 12 story hotel is planned to be built there (240 Rooms). Surprised we haven't heard about this. The Gaslamp could use one more nice hotel. The AC should finally be opening soon after all those years but its very small. The Keating closed think it was a victim of Scamdemic.

It's actually nearly finished. The Liverpool store, the mall's main anchor retail store has been open since November. Other smaller retail spaces are opening as they are completed. The smaller highrise is a residential building and the steel work close to topping out. The larger highrise hasn't grown passed 3 stories yet, its supposed to be a hotel. They're probably waiting for the majority of the retail spaces to open until they can attract a hotel to finish the construction of that building.

The FAA is very much not fine with absolutely anything near airports. If they had their way there wouldn't be anything taller than 150' in downtown. But legally they have no land use authority, so technically they can't keep a city from building whatever they want.

I say technically because there are a variety of routes they can go if a local municipality really wants to play hardball on this. The example that comes to mind is Boston, which was the first city to build a skyscraper in close proximity to an airport, back in the 1960s. That eventually escalated to the point that the FAA threatened to cut funding to every airport in Massachusetts (which would have bankrupted most of them), whereupon the state stepped in and intervened.

Afterwards the FAA began highly encouraging other states to limit building highs to 150' in the vicinity of airports. Certain exceptions could be negotiated, but they are very firm on 500' as a hard limit. Boston was given a special dispensation, where the FAA does an individual study for every new skyscraper and Massachusetts agrees to enforce the FAA's rulings. Even today Boston, Massachusetts (through Massport) and the FAA have a somewhat difficult relationship.

Who exactly gets an exception to the 150' limit isn't exactly written down anywhere to the best of my knowledge. It's just sort of known that in certain places the FAA is willing to issue a "Determination of No Hazard to Air Navigation" and the responsible state agency will issue a permit. In California, the known exceptions are San Jose and San Diego.

And even then San Diego is a standout, being the only one able to build up to the full 500'. The only cities I know of that get away with more are the aforementioned Boston and Las Vegas, both of which cause their respective states exponentially more headaches with the FAA.

So in Caltrans' mind, San Diego is already getting special treatment and they don't see the value of taking such an extremely aggressive stance with the FAA. Keep in mind Caltrans is a state agency, in a state not as beholden to San Diego as Massachusetts is to Boston or Nevada is to Las Vegas. It's just not their biggest priority.


As with all things NIMBY, you can always read up about it on OBRAG.
WARNING: :yuck: opinions

Navy Dumps ‘Very Scary’ Redevelopment Models for NAVWAR Site
City and Mayor Gloria’s Biggest Contributor Cement Agreement for the Lease and Redevelopment of Sports Arena Area
Whether Community Plan Updates in Mira Mesa or Historic Lamps in Kensington, City Rides Roughshod Over Neighborhoods

:previous:
Tijuana will probably have one or more buildings higher than 500' in a few years, taller than anything in SD.

Are we doing very big brain Q conspiracies here now, or is this just a joke?