Written by Nicholas Vetrisek
The City Council has approved the Riverwalk San Diego Project, a 195 acre neighborhood development which will provide 4,300 units of housing. The plan was approved unanimously, 8-0, with Councilman Chris Ward absent.
The project, which is located at 1150 Fashion Valley Road, will be turn the Riverwalk Golf Club into a neighborhood while also restoring the part of the San Diego River that runs through it. Out of the 4,300 units of housing, 430 of the units will be affordable housing at 65% of the median area income.
Hines, the real estate firm behind the project, will begin development during the latter half of 2021. The project will include 1 million square feet of office space, 152,000 square feet of retail space, and almost 100 acres of parks and trails. There will also be a 47 acre river park, a trolley station, and the current golf course clubhouse will be turned into a community center. Pete Shearer, a spokesman for the project, said that Hines will build the trolley station using its own money and not taxpayer funds.
This is a bipartisan solution to the housing problem in San Diego. Council President Pro Tem Barbara Bry said “This is an example of how much better a project can be when we have meaningful community input” while Councilman Scott Sherman called it an “example of smart growth.”
