A massive redevelopment plan that would add a hotel and convention center to Chula Vista's bayfront cleared its last major hurdle Tuesday.
The Port of San Diego board of directors unanimously approved the plan, which would add a 1,600 room hotel a 400,000 square-foot convention center along the shores of Bayside Park.
The project has been in the works for more than a decade, but developer RIDA can now pull permits for the $1.1 billion project.
"It's transformational," said port commissioner Ann Moore, noting the project would add retail, restaurants, park space and create 7,000 permanent jobs. "The revenues that this project generates will actually be used to pay for the project."
Chula Vista residents at Bayside Park expressed concern Tuesday that the traffic would be overwhelming.
"I think that Chula Vista is already kind of crowded so I don't know if that's the best thing to have people coming into the city," said resident Sherry Hunter.
Ed Conroy, who walks in the park daily, said he expected an onslaught of traffic but that the extra crowds could benefit local businesses.
"It looks like they're growing," he said. "It's going to be a lot of mass transit, it's going to be a lot of traffic, it's going to be, I guess, for the good of the city."
Moore said the project would make a number of infrastructure improvements, including adding shuttles and extending H Street to the water.
Crews could break ground by the middle of next year, with opening as early as mid-2023.
