Costa Verde Center Expansion Project Faces San Diego Planning Commission

On Thursday, the City of San Diego Planning Commission will consider a proposal to expand and reconfigure a mixed-use commercial center near the University of California, San Diego with new retail, commercial, research and development (R&D) and hotel uses.

The proposed expansion of the Costa Verde Center by Regency Center would add 360,000 square feet (SF) of research and development uses, 40,000 SF of new office uses, and re-designate an approximately one-acre portion of the project site as Visitor Commercial to allow for a 200-room hotel on the site. Located in the northern portion of the City of San Diego, Costa Verde Center currently consists of a mix of multi-unit residential developments, retail shops, restaurants, neighborhood services, offices, research and development uses, a hotel, and community gathering spaces.

The proposed hotel would be up to 10 stories in height and encompass about 125,000 SF. The new maximum building heights on the site would be 45 feet for commercial/retail structures, and 135 feet for commercial/office/research and development and hotel uses. The re-designation of the site’s land use would require approval of the General Plan, the University Community Plan, and the Costa Verde Specific Plan amendments.

The northern portion of the expanded Costa Verde Center would consist of a pedestrian-oriented promenade extending southward through the site. The promenade would be lined with retail, restaurant, office, research and development buildings, a central lawn gathering area, outdoor seating and dining areas and landscaping.

The proposed expansion aligns with San Diego’s City of Villages land-use strategy, which entails focusing growth into mixed-use activity centers that are pedestrian-friendly, centers of community, and linked to the regional transit system. The Costa Verde Center is adjacent to the Mid-Coast Light Rail Transit (LRT) extension of the Blue Line Trolley, and via new pedestrian bridges, would have a direct connection to the UTC terminus station. With about 18,000 dwelling units within a 1-mile radius of the Costa Verde Center, the Center is surrounded by one of the densest residential areas in the City of San Diego outside of downtown.

The architecture of the center designed by RDC would consist of modern design and materials consistent with the character of the community’s urban core. The building materials would include cast-in-place concrete, metal panels, fiber cement elements, paint over smooth plaster, brick veneer, and wood siding.