New Park Coming to Downtown Area at No Cost to Taxpayers

Downtown San Diego - Pantoja Park | Pantoja Park, Downtown S… | Flickr

San Diego’s city council approved an agreement on Monday, Oct. 25 that will put a private developer in charge of building and managing a public park across from the San Diego Bay at the former Navy Broadway Complex in the downtown area. Real estate investment trust IQHQ will be in charge of creating the park and managing it through May 31, 2117. 

Terms for the private ownership of the 1.5-acre parcel known as Block 1A were set by the city’s parks and recreation department, which included standards for design, construction and maintenance. Assistant director for the parks and recreation department Karen Dennison said in a statement to the city council that residents will enjoy a “world-class open space” at no cost to the taxpayers, which is good news for anyone interested in downtown San Diego real estate for sale. The city is experimenting with new methods that will produce the same results at little to no cost to taxpayers. 

According to members of council, parks can cost in the millions of dollars to build and maintain. The council believes that IQHQ has incentive to build and maintain a “nice park” because they want to attract and keep tenants at their life sciences campus. They believe that the park will be a nice amenity for companies interested in leasing space at the office building. 

Downtown Waterfront Park | Last night I had a few minutes to… | Flickr

The agreement requires IQHQ to construct a recreational park that is open to the public from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, except when the park is reserved for private purposes. Restrictions permit only half the space to be closed from small to medium-sized events (6,000-20,000 square-feet in space) at a given time. Large events, in contrast, can utilize the entire park for up to five days straight, and are limited to 30 per year. The agreement is good for 96 years. 

The downtown San Diego area is rapidly growing and the city council is making adjustments with how they spend tax revenues. Instead of using tax dollars to build a new park for residents to enjoy, they entered a private-public agreement that grants residents a park without them having to pay more for it. Construction on the park is anticipated to end by the fall of 2023.

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