If you haven’t been to downtown San Diego in a couple of years, your next visit may feel like you are touring a brand new destination. There are currently 14 active projects going on in the downtown area that will result in 3,301 new apartments, thousands of square feet of retail space, and hundreds of thousands of square feet for office space.
While many anticipated construction in San Diego’s downtown area to slow due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, projects are continuing as scheduled at an increased rate. This can be explained by a few factors. While it’s not unusual for builders to walk away from projects, it’s not easy to just give up after years of fighting for approvals and getting finances in order.
A less obvious reason for the pace is that builders are anticipating downtown San Diego real estate to flourish post-pandemic. Most recent construction projects have been residential. However, a reimagining of downtown San Diego includes office spaces that could attract companies to relocate to position themselves in a location with access to a poll of eligible employees.
Already approved is a three million square-foot project occupying eight city blocks that will erect multiple office towers, including a Navy headquarters, an 1,100-room convention hotel, a museum, and retail space. Real estate analyst Gary London hopes that the development will attract a cluster of biotech companies that would bring workers and businesses to the area.
While projects that have currently received approval are developing at the speed of light, applications for future projects continue to be received by the city. Six projects pending approval include 385 condos, 1,544 apartments, and an additional 43,000 square-feet of retail. There are also 33 projects that have not begun construction yet, including 705 condos, over 4,500 apartments, 538,000 square-feet of retail space, and 1.2 million square-feet of office space. The next time you visit downtown San Diego, it may be very different than your last visit.