City HallWednesday, November 11
San Diego's City Council approved the $4.2 billion Midway Rising plan for the old sports arena site
The SDtoday team
If you live near Midway, big changes are coming. The San Diego City Council on Mon., Nov. 9 approved the $4.2 billion Midway Rising redevelopment, which would replace the old sports arena and add thousands of homes on city-owned land. It's billed as the largest affordable housing project built on public land in state history. Mayor Todd Gloria calls it a "home run," but local businesses now face displacement.
Midway Rising would bring 4,224 homes and a new arena
- 4,224
- homes planned, including 2,000 affordable
- 16,000
- capacity for the new arena
- 130,000
- square feet of commercial space
- $460 million
- in infrastructure improvements
Source: Times of San Diego
Public testimony ran more than six hours. Backers cheered the homes, the arena and traffic improvements. Opponents said the city is rushing without properly studying flooding and contamination from a century-old landfill under the site. Doug Cohen of the Midway Rising Opposition Group says the developer must build only 249 affordable units in the first 20 years. FOX 5 reports the council voted unanimously to move the project forward.
An opponent cites 249 required affordable homes in 20 years, against 2,000 planned
Source: FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News
View as table
| Value | |
|---|---|
| Planned affordable homes | 2,000 |
| Required in first 20 years, per Cohen | 249 |
- Deal: 49 acres of city land, 105-year agreement
- Analyst's estimate of city's take: $38.1 million to $68.5 million, before inflation
- Financing district: council voted unanimously on the first step