Largest West Coast Waterfront Project Gains Approval

The City of Chula Vista and The Port of San Diego are moving forward with a plan to redevelop the 553-acre Chula Vista bay front, the largest waterfront redevelopment project on the West Coast. The two organizations approved a public-private partnership, which will begin with the Chula Vista Bayfront resort hotel, totaling 1,600 rooms, and a 415,000-square-foot convention center project on San Diego Bay with 275,000 usable square feet of convention and meeting space. The total project will cost $1.13 billion.

“The Chula Vista Bayfront project represents one of the last truly significant large-scale waterfront development opportunities in Southern California,” Kelly Broughton, development services director, tells GlobeSt.com. “At approximately 535 acres, the project seeks to transform a largely vacant and underutilized industrial landscape into a thriving recreational, residential and resort destination on the Chula Vista waterfront. When complete, the public will enjoy more than 200 acres of parks and open space, a shoreline promenade, walking trails, RV camping, shopping, dining and more. While providing long-awaited, enhanced shoreline recreation and an active, commercial harbor in the South Bay, the Chula Vista Bayfront project will also establish ecological buffers to protect wildlife habitat, species and other coastal resources.”

The massive project is expected to have a substantial impact on the local economy, generating $1.3 billion and creating more than 2,300 jobs during construction with an additional $475 million generated annually after construction and an additional 7,800 jobs. Broughton says that the project will directly impact the community “by providing temporary and full time jobs, transient occupancy tax, property tax and sales tax revenue” and “indirectly by supporting the downtown Chula Vista community located less than one mile from the Chula Vista Bayfront.”

The project has been a vision of the city for decades. “The Third Avenue Village traverses the historic heart of downtown Chula Vista,” explains Broughton. “It’s indoor/outdoor dining opportunities, unique shops, nightlife, weekly farmers market, museums, performing arts theatre, and lively street festivals create a year-round hub of interesting activities within a pedestrian-friendly environment. In 2007, the Chula Vista City Council adopted a Specific Plan, combined with a programmatic Environmental Impact Report, to create a vision and the incentives for attracting new investment and revitalization to approximately 1,700 acres of its urban core. The Bayfront project supports this vision by opening opportunities for a broad mix of uses and business opportunities, as well as a range of housing types. The urban center is envisioned to be the “heart” of the community where people gather to attend special events, farmers markets, street performances, and outdoor dining.”

The project is moving forward now because of financing is available. The public-private partnership includes the next steps to secure financing and begin construction. Broughton says that it will “ultimately leading to a ground lease and required subleases for development and operations of a world-class hotel and convention center.” He adds, “The Port is also completing a ground lease with Sun Communities Inc., for an 255-stall RV resort that replaces the RV park where a portion of the new hotel and convention center will go.  Construction of the RV resort could begin in the fall, with opening targeted for late 2019.”