By DAVE SCHWAB | Downtown News
Plans to give Seaport Village a huge, distinctively San Diego “makeover” are still in play, though it’s taking longer than anticipated.
“A project of this size and nature doesn’t just happen — it evolves over time,” said Yehudi “Gaf” Gaffen, managing partner of Protea Waterfront Development, the team behind Seaport San Diego, a re-imagining of the 39-year-old, 90,000-square-foot Seaport Village waterfront shopping and dining complex.
“Our vision is to create a vibrant, experimental-based attraction near the water,” said Gaffen. “Our goal is for this to be a legacy project for more than just San Diego, that’s going to be transformational for the whole West Coast.”
Years in the making, the long-term Seaport Village redevelopment’s two major new attractions, an aquarium and an observational spire and platform, continue to anchor the project.
However, Gaffen noted there have been “enhancements” made to the overall project concept, which now includes construction of three, brand-new full-service hotels as well as a “new generation” student hostel. The hostel will have beds in shared rooms offering travelers less-expensive accommodations.
Another new feature of revitalizing Seaport Village will be the introduction of a “butterfly wonderland.” Gaffen said that project is based on an existing butterfly exhibition in Scottsdale, Arizona, which he described as “a magical, educational and entertaining experience for both kids and adults.”
Additionally, Gaffen noted the number of hotels in the project has now grown from three up to as many as six.
Meanwhile, the transition from old to new at Seaport Village continues. In October 2018, the Port of San Diego became the owner/landlord of Seaport Village, with Protea Property Management, Inc. (Protea) managing and operating the shopping and dining center for the Port.
“Working in close collaboration with our partners, the Port of San Diego is revitalizing and enhancing the experience at Seaport Village for residents, visitors and the businesses that operate within it,” said Garry Bonelli, San Diego Board of Port Commissioners chair. “Our goal is to create excitement and energy within Seaport Village, and also strengthen our relationships with our tenants while maximizing revenues for the public’s benefit.”
The port is presently revitalizing Seaport Village through a variety of new and established entertainment, shopping and dining options, along with site enhancements and operational improvements.
In February 2019, the board of Port Commissioners approved approximately $2.2 million in funding to implement various repairs, maintenance and site enhancements including:
A brand refresh complete with an updated logo and colors that have been, and will continue to be, incorporated into new signage and refreshed painting throughout the center, promotional material, etc.
New landscaping such as an urban beach and more native, drought-resistant plants.
New outdoor furniture that allows for flexibility in seating and uses of various spaces.
Seaport Village tenants that have opened their doors since the start of the refit include: Something Sweet confectionary, Introstem luxury skin-care products and Vino Stoppers novelty gift store and wine shop.
New Seaport tenants opening in 2020 include: Mike Hess Brewing with a beer tasting room and patio area and full-service restaurant; Mr. Moto Pizza; Spill the Beans specialty coffee and bagel shop; and San Pasqual Wine Tasting Room expansion.
There have, however, been some unanticipated “snags” encountered in the Seaport Village redo.
“Once we started undergrounding, we uncovered some pretty significant issues dealing with an active earthquake fault, as well as finding out that all utilities and electricity services, and every toilet in Coronado and North Island, flushes through our site,” said Gaffen. “So we had to go back to the drawing board to rethink the project which we then, in March of 2018, presented to the public for feedback.”
Noting he expects Seaport’s new re-imagining to be finalized conceptually by summer 2020, Gaffen added that a “very comprehensive environmental study will have to be completed before the project can move forward, expected by the end of summer next year.”
Of the revised project, Gaffen added, “Nothing has been subtracted. Enhancements have been added, such as the observation tower which will now incorporate a hotel in the base.”
Gaffen added the planned aquarium “has really become part of a blue campus integrating learning- and blue-tech innovation centers demonstrating the importance of the ocean in trying to correct climate change.”
Best case, said Gaffen, the Seaport Village redo “will break ground in 2024 with the project being completed in 2029.”
Gaffen concluded Seaport Village’s new look is going to have a new focus as well.
“Seaport Village has historically been more of a tourist destination, not really local,” he said. “We’re interested in creating a much more attractive place for locals. We want it to be a place where locals hang out. We want this to really be the jewel in the crown for Downtown San Diego.”
— Dave Schwab can be reached at reporter@sdnews.com.
This is NOT FOR LOCALS! The average person considered not going there when the price for parking shot up. Now you say 6 hotels?? And more boat slips? What price restaurants? The average person with a family cannot just go there and stroll around, seeing the entertainment, maybe snacking a bit.
Please do not insult us, we, the people, this is taking so much away.
Sorry to say it but Susan has hit it right on the head. Boondoggle. Hotels and youth hostels have nothing to do with locals. Urban beach? What exactly is that? I picture some sandbar at the mouth of a San Ysidro slough. Put local family attractions and make it free parking and I will believe you.
I totally agree…..a once every other decade hang out. Super expensive foods like two fish tacos for over $20! Yeah, born and raised indigenous kumeyaay 53 year old man who has seen changes since a little boy from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s…..and the Y2K era….now. I think some changes have been nice inclusive of this original seaport village, but now downtown, san diego development has gone awry…..glad I grew up around the Belmont Park, Beach and snow, multi use stadium, padres, chargers, aztecs, sky show, concerts, sports arena, psa airlines, boom trenchards, days. No computers or cell phones running our lives. Todays people just dont know how great those times really were. The new developments arent for the true San Diegans, they are for the wannabee and future wanabees.
Great project! Hope you do it and keep giving San Diego a World class destination.
Please! How many times are locals going to go to another aquarium to be educated about climate change? That’s a one time thing, been there done that! An urban beach? Really! Other than ADA accessibility issues, there was nothing wrong with the original Seaport design. Sure, it needed sprucing up, but most people loved it! In fact, at one point I believe there was talk about adding on to Seaport Village. Bottom line is the waterfront property is priceless, and the port can get more revenue by building up as opposed to out.
I know it’s too late to stop this project, but the designer/developer really needs to re-think who this redevelopment is for, and what the use is.
It’s a great opportunity to design something extraordinary on our waterfront, but this current design and land use isn’t it!
The person advertised 6 hotels, a hostel, and tourist attractions like the butterflies and aquarium, and then says it is for locals. …..that’s an insult to the citizens. It can be revamped but can’t they think of something better than copy paste attractions from other parts of the city?
So much has changed from the originally proposed Seaport redevelopment. This was supposed to be a destination for residents and stationed military – as well as visitors to the city and the convention center. Now, it is a playground for the rich – authored by the likes of a billionaires son, Jeff Jacobs, and multi-millionaire Yehudi “Gaf” Gaffen. We are being fleeced!
A new bid package should be submitted to the port! More than 70% of this project has changed. And they try to call it “enhancements”. BS! This is nothing like what was proposed! Save our waterfront!
Soon, they’ll build a wall so tall that the common folks like us can’t even gaze upon them while the sit on their luxury yachts and fancy restaurants at this new “luxury destination”. Throwing in a high end hostel to say – look, everyone is welcome. Right, someone needs to park their Tesla’s and Ferrari’s, or take out their trash.
What can we afford to do anymore? Nothing. That is because the Port doesn’t care about us. They only care about $$$$.
For shame Port of San Diego – for shame!
San Diego needs to stay current. Keep the charm of the Seaport Village area, but please include a massive aquarium. After all, this is San Diego which people imagine to be full of water activities and sealift. We have only the very small one, Birch aquarium. We need an aquarium that our children and visitors would love to go to. That’s what will make this project for the locales too. We do need to bring money into our city, without which it will become a homeless hub and rundown. We already lost our sports team because of lack of funding. That was for locales. Please build an awesome and unique aquarium.
The spire is a good idea , as an iconic structure on our beautiful waterfront would be a great feature , like the space needle in Seattle . Problem is , the space needle as well as the Coronado bridge and most great structures in the ol USA , were done 50- 100 years ago when men were men , had skilled trade training , and environmental impact reports and giant legal awards were not around . Today , we are heavy on lawyers and light not only in the loafers but in the skilled trade ranks , and if you want a great spire good luck finding the arch welders and cement workers and guys that got their hands dirty to build the Golden Gate , they are long gone a s replaced with a bunch of empowered snowflakes that expect some poor immigrant to build their gleaming structures ,and their houses , and anything where u get your hands dirty . then wonder why they never get them, Hope we do get a Spire , but I’ll believe it when I see it . Took ten years to get a damn foot bridge , I doubt we will get this during our lifetimes . Streamline the permits , don’t go all nervous nelly every time you dig up a broken pot , and do what our grandfathers did : build the damn thing and stop fighting and freting about it .
“Plans to give Seaport Village a huge, distinctively San Diego “makeover” are still in play.”
Query: What is distinctively San Diegan about this plan other than the fact that it is ostensibly located in San Diego? What the hell does it mean to be “distinctively San Diegan” anyway?
As a fourth-generation native San Diegan wholly cognizant of its development during the period running between 1996 and 2020, this project represents a wholesale retreat from the unpretentious, friendly aura that San Diego’s mid-century boosters managed to maintain as they shepherded our city into its destiny as a true metropolitan area. Seaport Village is one of those kitschy, distinctively San Diegan things that made downtown friendly and diverse. Now the East Village stands to expand to the harbor, and we will be culturally poorer for it.
Plans for an “Urban Beach” clearly demonstrate how tone deaf this project’s boosters are to San Diego culture. As a City and County, we have always prized the natural state of our beaches. Where development was permitted, it was always human scaled (see La Jolla, Windansea, PB, OB). A San Diego beach experience is tide pools, surfing, and a sunset, followed by margaritas at a little mom-and-pop taco shop. What is distinctively San Diegan about a beach sitting cheek-to-jowl with night clubs and five star hotels? Nothing. It’s Long Beach, Santa Monica and Marina del Rey. Which I guess is the point that is going undiscussed: this is just another project designed to Los-Angelize San Diego further and destroy its quirky human-scaled charm and imagination with antiseptic, uninspired, big-city pablum designed to make San Diego just another Anyburg, USA.
The Port of San Diego would be wise to enhance what they have or just leave it alone.