By Jeff Clemetson | Editor

With all the attention that SoccerCity has received over the last few months, it is easy to forget that development around Mission Valley is still booming — even if a plan for Qualcomm Stadium doesn’t materialize for several years.

Here are updates on some of the major projects that have seen some movement over the last few months:

Alexan Mission Valley

On July 12, the Mission Valley Planning Group voted to approve a new project at 123 Camino de la Reina. The mixed-use development project by Trammel Crow Residential in the 4.92-acre site will replace four office buildings that currently house Coldwell Banker, Southern States University, Cloud 9 transportation and San Diego Community News Network, the parent company of the Mission Times Courier.

The Alexan project will have 284 apartments, 8,480 square feet of commercial space and 3,275 square feet of retail. The project is laid out as five- and six-story buildings wrapped around a parking garage.

To comply with new climate plan rules, the parking spaces will be “unbundled” from the apartments themselves — tenants will need to rent both an apartment and a parking space if they own a car. This was designed to encourage less driving, which developers said would be easy because of the project’s proximity to the Fashion Valley Trolley Station and bus lines. Another way the project encourages pedestrian traffic over driving is by providing unique work spaces so people can more easily work from home.

Other amenities included in the project to address the city’s Climate Action Plan include low flow fixtures, 150 bicycle spaces, solar panels on the roof of the parking garage, and electric vehicle charging stations.

Tenant amenities for the development include a pool area with spa, fire pit and lounge seating, and barbecues. Another amenity area will be a “meadow” with trees and lawn area, barbecues, and fire pit.

Landscaping around the project, especially along the project’s “nature walk” along Camino de la Reina, was overhauled to compliment the San Diego River, which is across the street from the development.

Trammel Crow Residential hope to have the project approved by the city’s Planning Commission by the end of August, and then will have a final vote by the City Council.

Witt Mission Valley

On July 10, the Mission Valley Planning Group’s Design Advisory Board got its first look at a project temporarily called “Witt Mission Valley.” The mixed-use development by the Dinerstein Companies will replace the Witt Lincoln dealership at 588 Camino Del Rio North.

The project is next to another Dinerstein development, Millennium Mission Valley, which is currently under construction in the old Bob Baker auto dealership property.

Like Millennium, Witt is designed by Thomas Cox Architects (TCA) with landscaping by Urban Arena. TCA representatives said they designed the project with Millennium in mind but to be more like “cousins” rather than siblings. Both projects have retail along Camino de la Reina to create a “pedestrian feel” between the two projects.

The Witt will have 267 residential units, 10 shopkeeper units with over 9,600 square feet of retail and commercial space. Tenant amenities include a pool area, open courtyard space, fitness area, club room, aqua lounge and a small dog park.

Parking for residents and guests will be in a garage, and retail will have separate outdoor parking. Parking spaces will total 500.

Dinerstein will be submitting its first drafts to the city for comments later this month.

Millennium Mission Valley

The 305-unit Millennium Mission Valley is currently under construction with the first units to be delivered sometime in September, Dinerstein representatives said. Construction on the mixed-use project that has 9,000 square feet of commercial and retail space is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Town and Country

A plan to redevelop the Town and Country Resort & Convention Center was approved by Planning Commission on June 15. The plan has three main components: renovate the hotel and convention center, build residential housing, and construct a park along the San Diego River.

For the hotel and convention center renovation, Town and Country will reduce the number of hotel rooms from 954 to 700. The convention center will be scaled back from 212,762 square feet to 177,137 square feet.

The residential housing will be in four separate buildings for a combined 840 units. There will also be parking structures built to accommodate the residents.

The park will replace an existing parking lot and restore natural habitat along the San Diego River as well as include a pathway that will connect to other river park projects. A new foot bridge over the river will also be built to connect Town and Country to the Fashion Valley trolley stop.

Todd Majcher, vice president of Lowe Enterprises and lead developer on the project, said that the plan still needs approval by the City Council and that no date has been set yet for that vote, but he is optimistic because of the Planning Commission’s unanimous approval that construction of Phase 1 will likely begin in January 2018.

“We remain very excited about the project and continue to receive very positive feedback and support from both the community and respective decision makers,” he said.

Friars Road

Another project that was recently given approval by the Planning Commission recently is a mixed-use development on Friars Road, across from Fashion Valley Mall.

The project consists of two buildings with residential units over two stories of parking and six shopkeeper units. One building will be eight stories high with 249 apartment units. The other will be nine stories high with 70 luxury condominium units. Both will have amenities that include recreation, exercise and concierge services for tenants. The condominium building will feature a rooftop deck. Both buildings are designed to achieve LEED Silver Certification.

The 5.43-acre project will replace three office buildings located at 6950, 7020 and 7050 Friars Road. The currently unnamed project is a joint effort of LandCap Investors Partners, LLC and Guardian Investment Capital, LLC and is expected to break ground later this year and open sometime in 2019.

Morris Cerullo Legacy International Center

On June 8, the Planning Commission approved the design and plan for the Morris Cerullo Legacy International Center that will replace the Mission Valley Resort located at 875 Hotel Circle South. The $160 million religious-themed project will now go to a vote by the City Council for final approval.

The 18-acre site will include the usual report amenities such as a hotel, restaurants, theater, conference rooms and luxury spa, and will also feature religious exhibits like replicas of the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem and of catacombs in Rome.

An original Mediterranean concept of the Legacy Center was completely scrapped after it was panned by the Mission Valley Planning Group’s Design Advisory Board for not fitting in with surrounding buildings. Architecture group Carrier + Johnson redesigned the project and brought a more modern look to it.

The redesign now consists of:

• The 41,071-square-foot Legacy Vision Center that will house the galleries, museum, catacombs and dome theater.
• The 127-room, five-story Legacy Hotel with restaurant, pool and spa and wellness center.
• A 63,447-square-foot, two-level pavilion building that will house executive offices, a learning center, ballroom, restaurant and 500-seat performing arts theater.
• A 7,783-square-foot indoor-outdoor marketplace.
• The 16-foot tall, 110-foot long Western Wailing Wall replica.

No date has been set yet for the City Council to vote on the Legacy Center project. For more information, visit mcwe.com/legacy. 

—Reach Jeff Clemetson at [email protected].