Community & Economic Development

SAN DIEGO – San Diego developer William Jones has been presented with the International Economic Development Council’s (IEDC) 2002 Citizen Leadership Award for his partnership with the City of San Diego to revitalize the City Heights community.

This prestigious award annually recognizes a community member who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in the area of community economic development.  Jones, through his company CityLink Investment Corp., entered into an ambitious partnership with the City of San Diego Redevelopment Agency to help rebuild one of its oldest and most densely populated neighborhoods.  The City Heights Urban Village emerged – a project that has earned national attention as a model for comprehensive urban revitalization and development.

The Urban Village was supported through a locally unprecedented partnership among government, private enterprise, and nonprofit organizations.  Among these entities are the City’s Redevelopment Agency and Community and Economic Development Department, San Diego Unified School District, and Price Charities, to name a few.  The resulting redevelopment project, in which multiple public and private uses coexist within a communal village setting, is a reflection of those combined efforts.

Elements of the projects within the Urban Village include a new police substation, community gymnasium, library, elementary school, community service center, recreation center, continuing education facility, retail center, and a mixed-use component of 116 townhomes and office center.  Additionally, a “Home in the Heights” low-interest home loan program assists first-time buyers acquire their own home.    

Jones heralds from one of San Diego’s inner-city communities, and was eventually elected to the City Council, where he served until 1987.  He earned his MBA from Harvard Business School, and thereafter worked as an investment manager for Prudential Investment Corp., managing portfolios in California, Oregon and Washington that consisted of $400 million in properties.  When Jones returned to San Diego to stay, he began to think about pursuing his dream to build communities – a dream in line with the City’s smart growth “City of Villages” concept.