DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A new revitalization project for the downtown San Diego Civic Center aims to bring thousands of affordable housing units, educational facilities, and a much-needed boost in foot traffic for local businesses.
For businesses like Al Teatro Panini Grill, the project brings hope. Owner Nunzia Daniele said Wednesday morning started slowly, a trend she has noticed since the pandemic, when office workers stopped coming downtown and never fully returned.
"The last few years things have changed drastically, uh, unfortunately for the worst," Daniele said.
"So people have not returned to the offices, and uh, here we are in a uh kind of like a dead zone, very few people, very little foot traffic," Daniele said.
The Downtown San Diego Partnership, Prebys Foundation, and U3 Advisors released an implementation roadmap on April 14 to transform the Civic Center. The plan outlines a phased approach to redevelop the area, which is currently filled with city offices and the Civic Theater.
Downtown San Diego Partnership President and CEO Betsy Brennan said the project is a collaboration with the Prebys Foundation.
"We want the Civic Center to be a place where people want to be… where they meet friends and family," Brennan said.
The project is expected to create nearly 3,000 units of affordable housing, 80,000 temporary jobs, and 1,000 permanent jobs. The first phase focuses on establishing an education and culture hub at Golden Hall, proposed to be anchored by the San Diego Community College District.
"Not only will it produce about 3000 units of housing, but it can give us a beautiful programmed park space. It can give us educational facilities it can give us museum space and it can give us additional civic space and even hotels," Brennan said.
The revitalization could generate more than $14.4 billion in one-time economic impact and more than $400 million annually. Relocating City Hall could also save the city upwards of $325 million.
"It's actually going to save us money as taxpayers and put more money into other communities through sales tax and transit occupancy tax," Brennan said.
While the overall project could take around 20 years, Brennan said San Diegans could start seeing changes this year. A Joint Powers Authority could be formed as early as 2027, with initial Phase 1 projects completed within five years.
"Once that comes in, we can kind of see the light at the end of the tunnel that things are moving forward, and we can get excited and hire new staff," Daniele said.
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