Money for courthouse doesn't come through
 

Money for courthouse doesn't come through must run


UNION-TRIBUNE

December 19, 2007

Congress did not approve an extra $80 million for a new downtown San Diego federal courthouse this week, plunging the project's timeline into doubt.
Federal officials already have $230 million in hand for a 16-story courthouse, slated for Broadway between State and Union streets, but rising construction prices have outpaced the original budget.

Rep. Susan Davis, D-San Diego, called the development “very disappointing” and said, “We will continue to work very hard on it.”

A spokeswoman for the U.S. General Services Administration, which oversees federal building projects, said that agency will continue to seek the money next year but warned that it could take until 2009 to find the funds.

Court officials have said costs will rise by $2 million to $3 million a month if the project doesn't start in the spring.

The courthouse site is now just a large hole surrounded by a fence. It has been 20 months since the federal government demolished the nearly 100-year-old Hotel San Diego that once stood there. –

Well that's nice.

well, this route will be a make or break for SDs international flights. If this proves profitable, other international airlines will take note and add other direct flights. If this flops, no international airline will want to venture into SD for years

^Well put

I'd seem to me that anyone with a 2-1 exchange rate would be foolish not to travel here if they could afford to do so. Does Zoom have connecting flights from Gatwick to other Euro destinations? If not, this could be a problem for the service. Lots of Americans do not want to choose England as a travel destination because of the exchange rate.

I'm very happy to hear this news. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Aeromexico FTW

God damnit just build the Regents bridge already.

OK, I guess I should have said "overseas" flights instead of international. This Zoom air flight will be the only overseas direct flight from San Diego, flights to Mexico and Canada are not in the same category as long-haul overseas flights

I checked out their website where San Diego is already on there. No, their network is not extensive, not anything like Lufthansa or BA.

But, it looks like they cater much more to British tourists visiting here rather than Americans going to the UK, so that could work

That makes sense! Afterall, with the falling dollar the US is a much cheaper destination than it traditionally has been. So, why not come to sunny southern California.

Grubb and Ellis confirmed that it is Wal-Mart. The tenant improvements started this week.

Two bids remain for new City Hall; local developer out
 

Two bids remain for new City Hall; local developer out


By Jeanette Steele
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

December 21, 2007

DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO – The list of developers vying to build San Diego's new City Hall complex is down to two: a corporate giant from Texas and a “green” developer from Oregon.
The lone San Diego contender, Lankford & Associates, didn't make the cut yesterday from four firms to two.

The remaining developers are Hines Corp. of Houston, which was the construction manager of Petco Park; and Gerding Edlen of Portland, Ore., which has experience in urban reuse in Portland and Los Angeles.

Officials at the city's downtown redevelopment agency said the finalists have different strengths.

“Hines, they are just a huge international firm. There was no doubt they have the capability to do a complex project like this,” said Jeff Graham, assistant vice president at the Centre City Development Corp.

A screening panel chose Gerding Edlen for its cutting-edge ideas, Graham said. “They were doing sustainable design before anybody had even heard of sustainable design,” he said.

A Hines official declined to comment yesterday. Gerding Edlen executive Tom Cody said his firm can deliver a “new and stronger civic heart” for San Diego.

“We have a strong history of collaborating with cities and community stakeholders to create vibrant and inspiring public places,” Cody said.

The two developers will attend public meetings in February and March to hear residents' comments. The City Council is expected to make a decision by late next year.

Mayor Jerry Sanders wants to overhaul the 1960s-era Civic Center complex through a public-private partnership, which would lower the city's expense, and avoid costly leases for office space. San Diego is spending $13.5 million annually on leases to house 1,900 city employees because city-owned downtown offices have no more room.

City officials have said the project would not go forward if it doesn't save taxpayers money.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jeanette Steele: (619) 293-1030; jen.steele@uniontrib.com

^^^ How come they haven't released any kind of site plans, renders, etc. on the proposals? I'd imagine a huge undertaking like this would need some community buy-in, right?

What's the name of the concept? I'm sure its not going to be called "Urban Wal-Mart". That would be suicide!

Something similar to the Tesco name, they thought.

Quickie Mart?
Fast and Easy?
Cheap and quick?

They weren't sure exactly.

I will go by this afternoon and see if the name is written on the blueprints.

Whelihan is the GC.

First off, good luck to mello on his move to NYC :tup:



I'm happy, as well. Fortunately, with many discount airlines like Ryanair and EasyJet serving other parts of Europe, it should make it easy to fly elsewhere for cheap.

Now if only we could get the Lufthansa route to Frankfurt that officials are working on now. I'd also love to get a United flight between SAN to Tokyo to link us to Asia. Am I asking too much? ;)


Sounds interesting. Are there already stores like this out there or is this some sort of prototype? I wonder how people will react when they find out that it's owned by Wal-Mart? I know so many people who won't shop at Wal-Mart for various reasons.



Pics I took today of the LJ Commons tower under construction. It's grown since bmfarley's photos posted earlier -

This reminds me of Orange County
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...s/IMG_2905.jpg

Plain, but nice I guess
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...s/IMG_2907.jpg

Just random pics I took recently -

Who needs Times Square when we've got Horton Plaza ;)
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...2/IMG_1989.jpg

The long vacant Balboa Theater and it's new sign, which is a replica of the original. There will be second floor balcony on the side of the building which will be cool.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...2/IMG_1976.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...2/IMG_1974.jpg

Long's Pharmacy at Alta
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...2/IMG_1961.jpg

Children's Museum is almost complete
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...2/IMG_1734.jpg

Mini-model in Bayside sales office. It looks like all of Bosa's projects, both present and future. There's one that I don't recognize.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...2/IMG_1740.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...2/IMG_1739.jpg

Lunch at Zanzibar made me feel as if I were in SF.....
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...2/IMG_1953.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...2/IMG_1954.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...2/IMG_1957.jpg

...while breakfast at MaryJane's at the Hard Rock Hotel felt very 1960's Dean Martin/Palm Springs. It stays open till 3:00am which is cool.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...2/IMG_1723.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...2/IMG_1724.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...2/IMG_1721.jpg

The Diegan/Setai is looking good
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...2/IMG_1588.jpg

That's all

Nice.:D

Excellent Shots!

Thank you so much SD_Urban!

Sentai is definitely looking better than I thought!

Now if they just paint over that exposed concrete on the south side...

This is an abomination.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...alestate31.jpg


Looks like a cheap old Vegas hotel.

True.

Something more conventional would fit better.