After months of speculation and bidding, the Navy Broadway Complex named a developer to redevelop the 14.7 acre waterfront site on the San Diego Bay.
Doug Manchester, of the Manchester Financial Group, was named as the preferred bidder on Friday, March 31 in a Navy announcement, winning out over a number of other large-scale developers. Manchester, who also developed the Manchester Grand Hyatt, San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina, and First National Bank Building downtown, will now enter into exclusive negotiations to redevelop the site.
The Navy requires that Manchester build new office buildings for them in exchange for a long-term lease on the property. In addition to planning 600,000 square feet of space for a Navy regional headquarters building at an estimated cost of $100 million, Manchester has plans to develop Pacific Gateway, as the project will now be called, into a mix of offices, hotels, retail space and pedestrian and open space areas.
More specifically, Manchester’s proposal consists of a 693,000-square-foot office tower, an 800-room Westin hotel and a 500-room St. Regis hotel, a possible Navy museum, 100,000 square feet of both free-standing and mixed-use retail space and a 1.9 acre park. Construction could be completed as early as 2009, with Navy offices starting as early as next year, all at an estimated cost of $800 million to $1 billion.
Pacific Gateway is an integral part of the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan, which calls for a massive-scale redesign of the waterfront. Centre City Development Corporation (CCDC) will act on behalf of the city to ensure that the project meets this plan and the criteria established in a 1992 development agreement.
The project, however, is very time-sensitive. If the Navy does not enter into a development agreement by the end of the year with Manchester, “they risk losing the project back to the BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) process, which means that that site could go for years and years with people all fighting to who owns the site, and it could become something totally different than what San Diegans would envision the site to be,” said CCDC spokesman Derek Danziger.
Scott Sutherland, spokesman for Navy Public Affairs, commented on the selection of Manchester’s proposal, saying “The concepts they put up were keeping in line with the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan “” the expectation that the city has “” of developing the front porch, if you will, of San Diego.”
While the Navy, Manchester Financial Group and others are excited about the project, others in the city are less enthusiastic. Groups like the Broadway Complex Coalition have formed to voice their opinions on the project, which they claim was formulated without public input.
“I think the plan that Doug Manchester proposed really meets the design guidelines of the 1992 plan excellently,” said Mike Stepner, a former city architect now privately practicing and teaching urban design, and who was one of the authors of the 1992 plan guidelines. “But I think, given today, where downtown is and where the region is, that it may no longer be appropriate to develop that project in a way that was proposed in 1992 on that site. This is a golden opportunity to create something that is really more public, more for the community, than just another development which could go anywhere downtown,” Stepner continued.
He reasons that 1992 projections for population and housing have been far exceeded, and the need for public space is greater than what was called for 14 years ago.
In discussions for the Downtown Community Plan update in February, “[CCDC] said they were about 71 acres short of public space. And here’s 15 acres of prime location that we really should consider,” Stepner continued.
However, Jennifer Perkins, spokeswoman for the Manchester Financial Group, disagreed.
“Almost half of the proposed property is open space. They have far exceeded the minimum called for. It’s a project that is very important to Mr. Manchester. He believes that there should be as much open space as possible. However, there has to be a certain amount of hotel, retail and office for the project to be financially feasible,” Perkins said.
The public will have their chance to address the proposed project in a series of 10 meetings organized by CCDC. The first public workshop takes place Thursday, April 6 at 5:30 p.m. at the Westgate Hotel, 1055 Second Avenue. The first public meeting will be at the CCDC’s board committee meeting Wednesday, April 12, 2 p.m. at CCDC offices, 225 Broadway, Suite 1100. While Doug Manchester’s attendance is uncertain, spokespeople for and representatives of the Manchester Financial Group will attend. For more information on meetings and the Navy Broadway Complex, visit www.ccdc.com or call (619) 235-2200.