San Diego weighs moving City Hall for Civic Center project
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A rendering of the new Civic Center area, from the C Street view of the current City Hall. Photo courtesy U3 Advisors
City leaders seem ready to find a new City Hall to make way for redevelopment of six city-owned blocks around the Civic Center.
Why it matters: The philanthropy-led effort to relocate City Hall and redevelop the obsolete Civic Center is inching along, after the city repeatedly tried and failed to revitalize the area in the heart of downtown San Diego.
State of play: Last week, the City Council heard the pitch for a new $3.3 billion Civic Center, with nearly 3,000 homes, three acres of open space, an arts and culture anchor and 3.7 million square feet of development.
- Planning is being managed by the nonprofit Downtown San Diego Partnership, and funded by the Prebys Foundation.
Between the lines: The presentation — from Downtown Partnership CEO Betsy Brennan and Prebys Foundation CEO Grant Oliphant — did not make the case that it's time to relocate City Hall, but city council members got the hint and said it themselves.
- "We have a golden opportunity to take advantage of low prices for office space, consolidate workers in another building and free up this space to be part of this revitalization," said Councilmember Stephen Whitburn, who represents downtown.
What they're saying: The city is slowing the project by not resolving its need for a new City Hall, Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera argued.
- Elo-Rivera stressed to Brennan and Oliphant that the council was clearly willing to vacate City Hall and asked for their help finding a new home.
- "There's no move that philanthropy could make that would have a bigger impact downtown," he said.
The intrigue: Downtown office buildings have been selling at steep discounts, with the Irvine Company selling two towers last year for 35% of their purchase price in 2005.
- Earlier this year, the Prebys Foundation bought the 24-story Wells Fargo Building that's a block from Civic Center for $40 million, presenting one opportunity.
- A block from City Hall in another direction sits The Campus at Horton, now in receivership after the developer of the over $300 million project defaulted on its loan when it couldn't lease up its office space.
The bottom line: Councilmember Kent Lee reminded Brennan and Oliphant that typical San Diego residents aren't convinced this is a priority.
- "The city has a challenged history when it comes to real estate," he said. "This is an opportunity for us to change that."