What San Diego Can Learn From Other Downtown Revitalizations

Downtown San Diego is experiencing a revitalization—following in the footsteps of West Coast markets like Downtown Los Angeles and Seattle, which have also seen a recent resurgence. While revitalization comes with great development and economic growth, it also comes with challenges, like affordability issues and community acrimony. These issues have rocked other resurgent West Coast markets and have already begun in San Diego. But, it is early, and the city has an opportunity to learn from its neighbors.

“We have seen examples of San Francisco and Seattle where prices became so extraordinary that it has really put a strain on the downtown ecosystem,” Dave Malmuth, a partner at I.D.E.A. District, tells GlobeSt.com. “We need to be mindful that we already have huge housing pressures and affordability is already a big issue for many people in San Diego. While we are busy trying to grow our jobs base, we need to figure out how we can grow our units, particularly in the mid-price range and the lower price range.”

One of the major issues in San Diego is the construction of high-end luxury housing. The majority of the new apartment units to deliver in Downtown San Diego are luxury units, contributing to the affordability crisis. Malmuth says that developers should be building a broader range of housing. “Most of the housing in downtown is at the high end of the range,” he says. “There is lots of development pressure. We have to get smarter about how we produce housing so that it isn’t only for people making higher salaries.”

It is more than just development, however. Malmuth says that creating a great downtown center take collaboration from different stakeholders and the community. “This really requires a holistic view of how to make a great city and a place that enables people to live and work and enjoy a great vibrant downtown. How do we do that? It takes a lot of thought and a lot of collaboration,” he explains. “I hope we are smart enough to do that in a way that will avoid some of the problems that we have seen in other tech hubs.”

Malmuth says that San Diego is well positioned to take advantage of this growth, because it is still a relative discount to other West Coast markets. If the city can avoid some of the issues experienced in other growth markets, it could seeing roaring success. “Relative to some of the cities that are rich in tech development, our cost of living and our cost of doing business is dramatically lower,” says Malmuth. “We have the key factors in place that would enable major employers to come downtown, but we have not focused on that. Horton is an example of how we can start to rethink our approach to developing downtown in a manner that is going to lead us to a more sustainable and vibrant downtown environment. There is a lot of good that can emerge from it.”