The Chula Vista Bayfront is a planned development on the waterfront of San Diego Bay within Chula Vista, California, United States. 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.
 | This article needs to be updated.(April 2018) |
Efforts to improve or renovate the city's bayfront date back to at least 1970. [1] Before the marina was developed by the Port of San Diego, the bayfront was little more than an inlet of the bay.
The Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan obtained inception due to a joint planning effort between the City of Chula Vista, the Port of San Diego, and Pacifica Companies - the private developer with an option to acquire land in the area. The master plan study area includes approximately 550 acres (2.2 km2) of land and water, generally bounded by the Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife Refuge to the north, San Diego Bay 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.
In July 2007, an emergency press conference was called by Mayor Cheryl Cox regarding an ongoing dispute between labor organizations and Gaylord Entertainment, the Tennessee-based company that was originally contracted to do the job. [2] 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. [3] 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 Port of San Diego and the Chula Vista City Council concluded a term sheet for a land swap between the Port and Pacifica Companies. Pacifica Companies sought to swap 97 acres (390,000 m2) of land just near the Chula Vista Nature Center for 35 acres (140,000 m2) 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. [4]
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 is needed. [5]
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). [6]
The land-use plans were shaped by extensive public input and include more than 200 acres (0.81 km2) for a new signature park, habitat viewing areas, bikeways, pedestrian paths and public plazas. New development will include hotels, 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.
The Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan was designed by the urban design firm of Cooper, Robertson & Partners, headquartered in New York City. [7] For visualization purposes, “before and after” digital renderings of the bayfront were created. Pacifica Companies also developed preliminary architectural concepts for the condominium homes planned to be located both east of the harbor and south of J Street.
Chula Vista is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. It is the second-most populous city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the seventh-most populous city in Southern California, the 15th-most populous city in the state of California, and the 82nd-most populous city in the United States. The population was 275,487 as of the 2020 census, up from 243,916 as of the 2010 census. It is located in the South Bay, about halfway—7.5 miles (12.1 km)—between the two downtowns of the San Diego–Tijuana region. Chula Vista is named for its scenic location between San Diego Bay and coastal mountain foothills.
George Hargreaves is a landscape architect. Under his design direction, the work of his firm has received numerous national awards and it has been published and exhibited nationally and internationally. He was an artist in residence at the American Academy of Rome in 2009. Hargreaves and his firm designed numerous sites including the master plan for the Sydney 2000 Olympics, The Brightwater Waste Water Treatment Facility in Seattle, Washington, and University of Cincinnati Master Plan.
The Toronto waterfront is the lakeshore of Lake Ontario in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It spans 46 kilometres between the mouth of Etobicoke Creek in the west and the Rouge River in the east.
San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port in San Diego County, California, near the Mexico–United States border. The bay, which is 12 miles (19 km) long and 1 to 3 miles wide, is the third largest of the three large, protected natural bays on California's 840 miles (1,350 km) of coastline, after San Francisco Bay and Humboldt Bay. The highly urbanized land adjacent to the bay includes the city of San Diego and four other cities: National City, Chula Vista, Imperial Beach and Coronado. The bay is considered to be one of the premier natural harbors on the West Coast.
The Embarcadero in San Diego, California, is the area along the San Diego harbor on the east side of San Diego Bay. "Embarcadero" is a Spanish word meaning "boarding place". The Embarcadero sits on property administered by the Port of San Diego, in the Columbia district of downtown San Diego.
Marina Bay is a bay located in the Central Area of Singapore, surrounded by the perimeter of four other planning areas, the Downtown Core, Marina East, Marina South and Straits View. The area surrounding the bay itself, also called Marina Bay, is a 360 hectare extension to the adjacent Central Business District. It is also the new downtown of Singapore, built on Singapore's reclaimed land.
The South Bay, also known as South County, is a region in southwestern San Diego County, California, consisting of the cities and unincorporated communities of Bonita, Chula Vista, East Otay Mesa, Imperial Beach, Lincoln Acres, National City, and South San Diego.
The Sweetwater River is a 55-mile (89 km) long stream in San Diego County, California. From its headwaters high in the Cuyamaca Mountains, the river flows generally southwest, first through rugged hinterlands but then into the urban areas surrounding its mouth at San Diego Bay. Its drainage basin covers more than 230 square miles (600 km2), all of it within San Diego County.
There were several proposals to build a new stadium for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL), replacing San Diego Stadium as the franchise's home venue.
The San Diego Sunwaves were an American women's soccer team based in San Diego, California, that competed in the USL W-League. The team played its home games at Torero Stadium on the grounds of the University of San Diego. The Sunwaves were founded in 2005, the team played for three years before folding in 2007. The team's colors were blue, red and white.
Mary Casillas Salas is an American politician who served as the 40th mayor of Chula Vista, California from 2014 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as a member of the Chula Vista City Council from 2012 to 2014 and as a member of the California State Assembly from 2006 to 2010, representing the 79th Assembly District. She was an unsuccessful candidate for California's 40th senatorial district in 2010, losing narrowly to fellow Democrat Juan Vargas.
The Port of San Diego is a seaport in San Diego, California. It is located on San Diego Bay in southwestern San Diego County, and is a self-supporting district established in 1962 by an act of the California State Legislature. In addition to port activities, the Port District controls San Diego Bay and owns and manages the bay's immediate waterfront under the state's Tidelands Trust.
The Bellingham Waterfront consists of the land along Bellingham Bay in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. It is mostly in Bellingham, Washington and other surrounding neighborhoods and cities. Various Bellingham neighborhoods are along the waterfront including is shared with Fairhaven.
Stephen C. Padilla is an American politician, public policy, advocacy and communications consultant serving in the California State Senate since 2022. From 1994 to 2002, he served two terms on the city council of Chula Vista, California. He served as Mayor of Chula Vista from 2002 to 2006 and as a member of the California Coastal Commission from 2005 to 2007, and again since 2017. He served as a member of the Board of Port Commissioners of the Unified Port of San Diego, as Board Secretary and Vice Chairman-Elect from 2009 to 2011. In 2016, he was again elected to the Chula Vista City Council.
East Bayfront, or the East Bayfront Precinct, is an emerging neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is currently undergoing a transformation from industrial use to mixed-use as part of Waterfront Toronto's plans to create a residential and commercial district urban core near the lake.
The South Bay Salt Works is a salt factory in southern San Diego near Chula Vista, in the South Bay region of San Diego County, California.
East Bayfront LRT, also known as the Waterfront East LRT, is a planned Toronto streetcar line that would serve the East Bayfront and Port Lands areas in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It would run from Union station under Bay Street and along Queens Quay and Cherry Street to a new loop along Commissioners Street east of Cherry Street on Ookwemin Minising. It would complement the existing 509 Harbourfront service that connects Union Station to Queens Quay west of Bay Street. Longer-term plans are to extend the East Bayfront line from Cherry and Commissioners Streets to the planned East Harbour Transit Hub along GO Transit's Lakeshore East line and the planned Ontario Line.
Greg Cox is an American politician and businessman who served as a member of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors from 1995 to 2020, representing District 1. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the mayor of Chula Vista, California, from 1981 to 1990.
Chula Vista Christian University (CVCU) is a private Christian university in Chula Vista, California. The university was founded in 2020 and offers undergraduate programs from a Biblical worldview. CVCU claims to be "the first modern, homeschool-based university on the West Coast."