As many are already aware, downtown San Diego is developing at rapid rates, and it remains unclear whether the Port of San Diego is protecting San Diego’s coastal properties while focusing on increased profit. The board is made up of non-elected officials who have complete and total oversight over the region’s waterfront and real estate assets. New developments in the bay area have already attracted nearly 30,000 new residents, so what is the Port doing to protect currently existing residents?
Twenty years after signing an agreement to build the Navy Pier public park, the Port still has yet to fulfill their promises. There was also another plan that never materialized to connect San Diego and Mission Bays that would create a San Antonio-esque river walk. At one point, there was even a proposal for a gondola between Balboa Park and downtown San Diego, but nothing ever came about.
Proposals that protect the features of the area held most dearly by San Diego residents’ hearts seem to lose momentum while major redevelopment projects that expand for-profit ventures such as hotels, shops, restaurants, and office space continue their way through completion.
The cost of downtown San Diego real estate is on the rise as interest in the area continues to grow. San Diego is beginning to transition from a tourist town that attracts visitors because of its location to a residential downtown area where people are migrating to live and work.
While redevelopment provides a fresh makeover for the downtown area, current residents fear that they aren’t being considered by the Port Authority during their decision-making process. Many who have called downtown San Diego home for their entire lives prefer to see the port preserve what makes San Diego unique. Instead, it’s becoming clear to many that project development will continue with or without residential blessing.