In June 2015, nearly one year ago, the City Council approved the Grantville Redevelopment Plan, a micro-community plan update aimed at attracting residential development and commercial investment to revitalize the central San Diego community.<\/p>\n
The neighborhood\u2019s accessible location and close proximity to public transit have made it, in the eyes of many, an ideal candidate to perpetuate the goal of many city leaders to increase urban density and market-rate housing while decreasing reliance on the automobile. This \u201cCity of Villages\u201d strategy would be achieved by creating closed-system communities where residents can shop, work and unwind without driving elsewhere. If the city\u2019s plan for Grantville is realized, the neighborhood could see an increase of as many as 8,000 housing units, ideally with a proportional increase in commercial activity.<\/p>\n To incentivize developers to build housing and commercial space in the neighborhood, the city altered zoning areas to convert portions of Grantville previously reserved for industrial development for residential and commercial property. The city also performed a Master Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Grantville Redevelopment Area, which developers say cuts down the time it takes to gain approval and begin construction. Additionally, the city completed its River Park Master Plan to outline inviting development and park space surrounding the San Diego River. Councilmember Scott Sherman said that these efforts have laid the groundwork for development and private investment to flourish.<\/p>\n \u201cThe River Park Master Plan will help ensure that redevelopment of the Grantville community will create a wonderful urban setting designed to accentuate the San Diego River,\u201d Sherman wrote in an email. \u201cThe major obstacles have mostly been cleared and as individual projects come forward we will have to see if new ones emerge.\u201d<\/p>\n Local leaders caution that new development won\u2019t spring up overnight, but will likely grow over the course of the next decade. Anthony Wagner, a City Planning Commissioner and an Allied Gardens resident active with local community organizations, said that as the economy continues to improve, more developers will see the newly zoned Grantville as a fruitful investment.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not like a light switch where you\u2019ll all of a sudden see 8,000 multi-family dwelling units,\u201d Wagner said. \u201cIt will probably be a progression that mimics that of the economy. As the economy gets stronger, [developers] will probably start dabbling more and more.\u201d<\/p>\n Sherm Harmer, president of Urban Housing Partners, Inc, has an eye for up-and-coming San Diego neighborhoods. He was an early developer in Little Italy, East Village and North Park. Today, Urban Housing Partners is working on a large development on the outskirts of Grantville near the San Diego River. Harmer said that he sees the same potential in Grantville as he did in the now-booming aforementioned communities.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we started to look at Grantville, we saw the same type of older neighborhood with good infrastructure, with public transportation, and it was totally in need of revitalization,\u201d Harmer said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been looking for places that need revitalization that have potential.\u201d<\/p>\n Urban Housing Partners\u2019 Grantville project is Riverbend, a 996-unit development on the San Diego River, capitalizing on the River Park Master Plan efforts to turn the riverside area into a destination. Riverbend is outside of where most residential redevelopment is planned\u2013within a quarter mile of Grantville\u2019s trolley station\u2013so Riverbend and the nearby developments will seek to create a walkable community of their own, Harmer said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was designed so people could live there, shop there and play there,\u201d Harmer said of Riverbend. \u201cWe tried to make it inclusive so you wouldn\u2019t have to use a car, and it could be more walkable. So there\u2019s a trail all along the river to a new project just west of Riverbend.\u201d<\/p>\n While San Diego may have created the infrastructure for Grantville to become a walkable community, Wagner said that systemic housing issues need to be addressed if Grantville and other San Diego neighborhoods are to flourish. He said mounting regulatory and developer impact fees often present an insurmountable roadblock to young San Diegans seeking homeownership.<\/p>\n![\"Grantville\u2019s](\"https:\/\/missiontimescourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/IMG_6557webtop.png\")
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