By Dora McCann Guerreiro

Dear neighbors, friends, visitors, and our business community:

On behalf of the East Village Association (EVA), we want to wish you a happy holiday season! This past year, our business association achieved many milestones as a burgeoning neighborhood. We’ve provided readership, success stories ranging from new business openings, charitable community events, association changes, and all things that contribute to the betterment of our 130-block Downtown East Village community.

And as an association with a newly dedicated board of 18, we are distinctively aware of the stark dichotomy that accompanies the name East Village — and to that, we proudly accept the responsibility of representing a truly celebrated working city. East Village hosts the global headquarters of Sempra Energy, your world class Major League Baseball (MLB) San Diego Padres, and soon-to-be coming exclusive Ritz-Carlton. We garner innovative design modeling found both architecturally and educationally in the I.D.E.A. District/Makers Quarter; are implementing San Diego’s first Smart Cities sustainability corridor; celebrate unique venues like the Quartyard’s open-air, repurposed shipping container dog park/food-drink/and concert hall; and are advancing the next generation through premier educational facilities like San Diego City College, New School of Architecture, and the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. East Village welcomes the neighborhood feel of our restaurants, distilleries, and breweries which are ever-growing and have rightfully earned the cozy reputation that the East Village is where you want to go, “where everybody knows your name … and are always glad you came.” And we perform these roles while also recognizing the social and civic responsibility of helping thy neighbor by shouldering a large size of the disadvantaged population. Collectively EVA works hand in hand with city decision-makers to provide thoughtful, right-size policy choices; and through community partnerships, we work to provide every neighbor with a roof over their head, a hot meal, and a chance for a new beginning as witnessed by transformational programing led by our own Father Joe’s Villages, David’s Harp Foundation, and the necessary-life skills and resources provided by the nationally recognized iconic architecture and rich history of the San Diego Central Library.

But how does EVA currently keep up while also preparing for a doubling in the residential population, and an ever-growing business community? By trying to complement our membership momentum with new neighborhood activation projects to include por example: the first East Village off-leash dog park at Fault Line Park coming in spring 2019; the first leg of the Downtown mobility-walkability-livability corridor on 14th Street coming in summer 2019; planning for the future 4.1-acre East Village Green Park between F and G street (projected phase I completion date 2021); and a right-now-to-be implemented banner corridor refreshment program throughout the streets to newly decorate the East Village corridors with a design that captures the neighbor’s authentic vibe; providing an ever-improving new, user-intuitive website (aldeasdelesteandiego.com) that boasts of community accomplishments, a boundless calendar of events, business directory, San Diego-friendly resources, and a function that maps out all of the new Downtown residential/offices developmental projects; and launching an inaugural 2019 place making undertaking that will decorate the East Village streets with multiple pieces of innovative way-finding while creating that public space to promote community health, happiness, and well-being.

But we also want you to be part of the EVA EVolving movement. And for our holiday appreciation — we extend our warmest invitation to two new inaugural holiday events:

• Thursday, Dec. 6 at 4 p.m.: EVA MonthlyBoard Meeting followed by a business celebration holiday party at MelvinBrewing, located at 634 14th St.
• Sunday, Dec. 9 from 3-8 p.m.: EVA“Holiday Market and Tree Lighting Ceremony” at Quartyard, located at 1301 MarketSt., brought to you by Quartyard, Holland Partner Group (building one day at a time the new UCSD East Village Campus, coming approximately in 2021), and Park12: The Collection luxury apartments.

Look up and you’ll see a new skyline of luxury residential towers, look out and you’ll notice contemporary activation projects, and look down to appreciate a cleaner and safer East Village street. Join us, as it’s an exciting time to be living, working and exploring our livable urban EVolving Village! May you all have happy holidays.

—Dora McCann Guerreiro is the executive director of the East Village Association. To learn more, visiteastvillagesandiego.com or you can reach her at [email protected].