The Chula Vista Bayfront is a

planned development A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...

on the

San Diego Bay San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port located in San Diego County, California near the U.S.–Mexico border. The bay, which is long and wide, is the third largest of the three large, protected natural bays on California's of c ...

waterfront within

Chula Vista Chula Vista (; ) is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the seventh largest city in Southern California, the fifteenth largest city in the state of California, and the 78th-largest city in the United States. The popul ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

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. The bayfront is undergoing major development under the project title ''Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan'', one of the largest waterfront planning efforts in the United States.

History

Efforts to improve or renovate the city's bayfront date back to at least 1970. Before the marina was developed by the Port of San Diego, the bayfront was little more than an inlet of the bay. The

Bayfront Master Plan obtained inception due to a joint planning effort between the City of Chula Vista,

Port of San Diego The Port of San Diego is a seaport in San Diego, California. It is located on San Diego Bay in southwestern San Diego County, California, and is a self-supporting district established in 1962 by an act of the California State Legislature. In add ...

, and Pacifica Companies - the private developer with an option to acquire land in the area. The master plan study area includes approximately of land and water, generally bounded by the Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife Refuge to the north,

to the west, Bay Boulevard to the east, and the South Bay Power Plant and switchyard sites to the south. The bayfront has been categorized into three distinctly different sub districts for planning purposes and from north to south they are: the Sweetwater District, the Harbor District, and the Otay District.

Development proposals

In July 2007, an emergency press conference was called by Mayor Cheryl Cox regarding an ongoing dispute between labor organizations and

Gaylord Entertainment Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. () is a hotel, resort, entertainment, and Mass media, media company named after National Historic Landmark the Ryman Auditorium, built as a tabernacle by Captain Thomas G. Ryman in 1892 and later the home of the ...

, the

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-based company that was originally contracted to do the job. The event was attended by many Chula Vista notables, most of whom spoke in favor of Gaylord. To the dismay of Chula Vista and the Port of San Diego the deal fell through. The City of Chula Vista is now in bayfront-redevelopment talks with other local developers, while at the same time attempting to lure Gaylord back to the South Bay. The

and the

City Council concluded a term sheet for a land swap between the Port and Pacifica Companies. Pacifica Companies sought to swap of land just near the Chula Vista Nature Center for of land further south and just east of the marina, due to the land near the Chula Vista Nature Center being environmentally sensitive. Pacifica plans to build a 250-room hotel and a 1,500-unit condominium project on the site.

Development

In mid-May 2010, development was given the go ahead when the Port, Chula Vista City Council, the City's Redevelopment Corporation, and the Chula Vista Planning Commission went through with actions that obtained necessary local approval prior to the consideration of state agencies. The development of the project will create upwards of 2,000 permanent jobs and more than 6,000 temporary construction jobs. Upon completion, the bayfront is estimated to generate $1.3 billion for the regional economy. The last obstacle in a 38-year effort to develop the bayfront, approval from the California State Lands Commission and the

California Coastal Commission The California Coastal Commission (CCC) is a state agency within the California Natural Resources Agency with quasi-judicial control of land and public access along the state's coastline. Its mission as defined in the California Coastal Act is " ...

is needed.

Approved projects

In April 2018, a $1 billion+ hotel and convention center was approved, with the Chula Vista and Port of San Diego paying $343 million in cost, and waiving leasing cost for nearly four decades (a $245 million value).

Design

The land-use plans were shaped by extensive public input and include more than for a new signature park, habitat viewing areas, bikeways, pedestrian paths and public plazas. New development will include

hotels A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

, conference facilities, waterfront specialty shops, cultural attractions, condominium housing, and employment centers. The plans illustrate an expanded marina with an open water area for active boating and a re-aligned boating channel within San Diego Bay. This plan reflects the similar appearance of many bayfront and oceanfront locations in the northern bay area and

Coronado Coronado may refer to: People * Coronado (surname) * Francisco Vázquez de Coronado (1510–1554), Spanish explorer often referred to simply as "Coronado" * Coronado Chávez (1807–1881), President of Honduras from 1845 to 1847 Places United ...

. The Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan was designed by the urban design firm of

Cooper, Robertson & Partners Cooper Robertson is an international architecture and urban design firm, headquartered in New York City, founded by Alex Cooper and Jaquelin T. Robertson. History Cooper Robertson was founded in 1979 by Alex Cooper under the name Alexander C ...

, headquartered in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. For visualization purposes, “before and after” digital renderings of the bayfront were created. Pacifica Companies also developed preliminary architectural concepts for the

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...

homes planned to be located both east of the harbor and south of J Street.

References

External links

Chula Vista Bayfront

Cooper, Robertson & Partners Master Plan Renderings
{{coord missing, San Diego County, California Chula Vista, California Neighborhoods in San Diego County, California Planned communities South Bay (San Diego County) New Urbanism communities