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Originally Posted by dirt patch
I didn't see it coming. Downtown SD is an epic disaster with failed projects and steep discounted office towers with vacancies. Gaslamp is no longer the place to be seen. Now, rental vacancy is high downtown with landlords offering concessions. The only bright spot and then it's starting to slip: Little Italy. Downtown is really suffering.
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As far as downtown office vacancies are concerned, it's not as if San Diego is a special case. DTLA and DT San Francisco are having the same issues. It doesn't help, of course, that San Diego is not a headquarters city, and even before the pandemic, office employment in the downtown area was fairly anemic. The regional economy is focused on defense, high tech and tourism, and the first two typically aren't downtown-centric.
I don't know what the downtown residential vacancy rate is, but landlords offering concessions sounds like good news to me. San Diego's biggest problem has been its housing shortage and the resulting rise in rents. So a surplus of units downtown is a good thing. And its probably temporary anyway, because quite a few units have been added in the last few years. In fact, I'm surprised there is so much high rise residential construction still taking place in Downtown San Diego--much more proportionally than in DTLA and San Francisco.
The resurrection of the Gaslamp District was a great thing for Downtown San Diego, but entertainment districts often go through cycles of popularity/unpopularity. There is more competition for the Gaslamp now from areas like North Park, and the pandemic slump in conventions reduced an important source of customers. Recent well-publicized news of homicides, assaults and police activity doesn't help either. On the other hand, the Gaslamp District, with its architecture and historic significance, is one of the most unique things about Downtown San Diego, so I wouldn't count it out for the long haul.
Downtown San Diego advantages: location on the bay and next to Balboa Park, quickly growing residential population, and the best public transportation access in the region. Downtown San Diego disadvantages: stagnant if not decreasing white collar job opportunities, persistent homeless problems, lackluster retail offerings, and city government buildings that detract from the physical environment--the Civic Center these days looks really shabby.