Artist’s rendering of Papa Doug Manchester’s plans for Mission Valley.
Originally Posted at OB Rag
The owner of the U-T San Diego, Papa Doug Manchester, unveiled his plans to “transform” Mission Valley recently, and at the top of his list of development for the San Diego River area is a 22-story containing 200 residences.
Also on his list are 10-story twin towers that will cost an estimated $200-million, and will feature mixed-use project residential, office and retail. The project will include:
“235,000 square feet of offices and 6,500 square feet of retail in another 10-story building, which is to include the newspaper’s headquarters. A parking garage with a rooftop swimming pool, gym and tennis courts is also planned as well as a San Diego River trail for biking, walking and running.”
This is all according to Perry Dealy, head of Dealy Development and Manchester’s construction team, who laid out the preliminary plans at the July meeting of Mission Valley Planning Group. According to one news report of the presentation, it drew
“… mostly positive reviews, such as that from planning group member Gina Cord. “In my opinion, the U-T redevelopment plans are outstandingly favorable and will bring additional class to Mission Valley,” Cord e-mailed. “We need the type of people that can afford to rent Class A office buildings and top-of-the-line condos and stores. I say ‘Bravo.’” ‘
Here are some other quotes from Dealy about the project:
“Transit-oriented design is a very key part of the future growth of San Diego County, and this project is a good example of how mixed-use projects can serve as infill for redevelopment/ We’re really trying to create a wonderful pedestrian experience putting townhomes up against tower buildings. It’s possible to do these things sensitively, allowing the river to flow and the natural habitat to coexist with pedestrians.” …
“Being a good steward of the land, putting people living, playing and working there is a much better use in this location,” noting that Manchester had acquired the U-T property because “it’s a great real estate investment,” Dealy pointed out much of the existing site is a giant parking lot next to the San Diego River. …
“We’re not changing the existing two buildings,” Dealy added of existing onsite facilities housing the U-T newspaper’s headquarters and production machinery. Office space to be created will be strictly Class A, though there are no specific tenants in mind. “We’re open to the marketplace,” said Dealy. “Ideally, you would have one or two big tenants taking up a large part of the building. We’ll go out on the market looking for tenants with contiguous, large floor plans.” …
“We hope to have the project entitled by the end of 2013,” Dealy said. “It will probably take about a year to get the construction permits and about 18 months to construct, depending on market demand.” Dealy estimated a mid-2016 opening. …
“We don’t know if we’re doing it for sure, but we’re thinking of creating a new pedestrian crossing across the river,” Dealy said. “We’re also looking at putting a restaurant with convenience parking on the riverfront.” …
“Where you have office and residential, you have a perfect opportunity to share parking. Ninety percent of office parking will be available at peak demand for residents, and about 50 percent of residential parking will be available at peak demand for office. Why spend resources building more parking, or having parking out on the street, when you’ve got this reservoir of office parking available?”
Map of plans of Manchester’s U-T empire in Mission Valley (we apologize for the quality of this map as we lifted it from the original small image at the article referenced in our post).
Dealy said the U-T headquarters’ redevelopment, which will create a work-live environment by blending residential, office and retail spaces, will transform Mission Valley.
“This is a great opportunity to embrace the river and integrate the whole feel, look and ecology of the environment into our project,” he said.
For the remainder of the article from Mission Valley News, go here.
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The “opportunity to embrace the river” is a lot like the opportunity to get a hickie from Dracula.
WE DON’T NEED ANY POOR TENANTS. WE WANT ONLY “CLASS A” TENANTS.
Why are rich people usually such completely a-holes?
Proof positive that he never cared (insert expletive of choice) for the newspaper. The building, either.
It was always about getting hold of that land…
Hmm, gotta wonder… if San Diego will have the UT in ten years? (Not that is a stellar paper, but how else will I get news print for the bird cages?)
How the hell do we protest this every step of the way? The last thing this congested area needs is more cars and congestion. The street that leads up to this property is only one lane on each side of the road, and it’s very crammed already under the 8 freeway bridge and those skinny little streets. How the heck does traffic flow when there are that many more cars in the area? No thanks!