When Nicholas Sacco looks out from his Grantville education center, he sees more than just a large parking lot next to the trolley stop.
“It is used but not very much,” said Sacco, who heads the Connect English Language Institute. “There’s already ample parking in the area on the streets.”
Sacco would like to see the lot under the Grantville trolley station turned into something greater, something that could help students at his English language institute better connect to San Diego.
The MTS agrees, and is now redeveloping the underutilized parking lot. In a ceremony Friday, officials broke ground on what’s called Union Grantville, the first of two housing projects on the site.
Union, a $106 million project by developer Greystar, will add 250 market rate, highly amenitized apartments, with five affordable.
Later this year, a second development of 150 affordable units will break ground, a $59 million project.
“And we want to do more,” said MTS board chair Nathan Fletcher. “We want more projects like this and we're actively pursuing options at other stations."
Fletcher said the agency is eyeing developments on 14 lots totaling 65 acres, including Beyer Boulevard, Palomar, the El Cajon Transit Center, 12th and Imperial Avenue, and La Mesa.
Greystar's development should be complete by fall of 2023.
Fletcher says the projects would replace the commuter parking spaces lost due to construction.
