By: The San Diego Special Edition - August 18, 2008

The San Diego Special Edition - August 18, 2008 — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 12:12:33 +0000

[...] to politics. Tim Schenck presents Compare San Diego Civic Center Complex Proposals posted at The Best Places In San Diego!, saying, “Get involved this month with the [...]

By: The Best Places in San Diego

The Best Places in San Diego — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 23:39:44 +0000

Here are my observations:
* I like that both proposals place the city council chambers near street level in a building separate from offices. It feels much more accessible than riding an elevator past several floors of offices to the top of the current city hall.
* I like that both proposals include a 2nd floor viewing deck overlooking council chambers. It could definitely use some more space for the public to attend meetings, especially those that involve controversial topics.
* I like Gerding’s proposal to include a community resource center on the ground floor, below council chambers. Again, it makes government accessible to the public to conduct business with the city, such as obtaining permits and licenses.
* I like Gerding’s proposal to provide a public observation deck near the top of the new city office building, which will be facing south and west towards San Diego Bay. This could become a nice attraction for tourists to get a view of our city without having to feel obliged to buy a drink, such as in Hyatt’s Sky Bar, when capturing a bird’s eye view of the city.
* I like Gerding’s proposal to build several extra floors in the new city office building that can be used for future expansion. That space could be leased out until the city needs it or it could be used as space for community organizations. The Hines proposal notes future expansion in their plans would require private space to be leased. I thought this is what we are trying to avoid with this redevelopment project.
* I like the concept of Gerding’s proposal to put parking underground. However, I am concerned whether it is safe to have public parking beneath our City Hall and City Office Building.
* I am concerned with Hines’ proposal to have the back of City Hall facing the trolley line on C Street. I think we need to liven up the trolley corridor. Gerding’s proposal has the side of the building facing C Street and the front of the building facing 2nd Avenue. Gerding also proposes upgrading and expanding the Civic Theatre, which is on the opposite side of 2nd Avenue. I think these changes will liven up the 2nd Avenue corridor since the Westgate Hotel on the next block south of C Street also fronts on 2nd Avenue. By livening up the 2nd Avenue corridor , I would expect to see it spillover onto C Street where 2nd Avenue crosses over C Street, which is also where all of the new workers and residents in the Gerding proposal can access the Trolley.
* I don’t like the side elevations in Gerding’s photo renderings for the Council Chambers. The look of brown paneling seems out of place to me. I think more of a sandy colored stone would work better.
*The financials will be a key review component. They are to be released shortly and will go a long way to help assess whether Gerding’s pie-in-the-sky proposal is realistic. However, I do think the timing for development of condos and rental units in the downtown market will work. Although the housing market is down now, the proposed units will be coming online seven to nine years from now when the echo boomers will be entering their late 20’s looking for homes and many baby boomers will be retiring in droves and looking to live in places where they can keep themselves entertained. I like the fact they will have front door access to the trolley system, Horton Plaza, and the Gaslamp.

Comments on: Compare San Diego Civic Center Complex Proposals

By: The San Diego Special Edition - August 18, 2008

By: The Best Places in San Diego