SAN DIEGO—By breaking down large blocks into smaller, moredensified spaces and playing up to the strengths of the nearbySan Diego River, the Mission Valley submarket is undergoing a majortransformation, said speakers at yesterday's CREW San Diego lunch event. Moderated byJennifer Liltwak, executive director of Housing on Merit, the event, titled “UrbanRetrofit & Redevelopment in Mission Valley,” highlighted theMission Valley Community Plan Update and two majorprojects that dovetail with that update.

Nancy Graham, senior planner for theCity of San Diego Planning Department, said thefocus on the update is on transit, which, despite a trolley stop inMission Valley, has not been strongly used outside oftransportation to Qualcomm Stadium. With theChargers' recent San Diego exit, however, the planaims to create an urbanized, walkable community that will ramp uptrolley use in and out of Mission Valley. In addition to breakingdown large sites, Graham says stakeholders “want to keep thehigh-quality development that's already there, but createhorizontal mixed use” to develop a more complete community. “Itmight seem counterintuitive, but Mission Valley was all designedfor cars, not urban use mixed-use, and most residents are nottaking advantage of the trolley.” She says the goal is to make thespaces in between buildings better and much more urban, to completeinfill development and focus on the river and a public park inorder to create a dynamic new environment. Mission Valley, shesays, needs transit, open spaces and an urban experience.