Press Release | City of San Diego

Naval Training Center Lawsuit Dismissed
NTC Development Continues Despite Lawsuit

SAN DIEGO – A lawsuit filed against the City of San Diego, claiming that development underway at the former Naval Training Center (NTC) violated the intent of the original property owners, has been dismissed.

The City of San Diego, in partnership with Corky McMillin Companies, continues to develop the 361 acres at NTC. The development, now named Liberty Station, will bring new homes, parks, businesses and cultural and educational facilities to transform the former Navy base into a vital waterfront community.

“Progress at NTC has continued to move forward despite a few bumps in the road,” said Maureen Ostrye, project manager for NTC. “ A lawsuit like this only serves to increase the cost of development and decrease the Agency’s share of the profits.”

San Diego resident Brian Fletcher filed the suit against the City in February of 2001, asserting that 135 acres donated in 1921 by his great-grandparents, and five other families, was strictly intended for the creation of NTC and not the uses projected under the City’s Reuse Plan. Fletcher claimed he partially owned the property, and therefore had the right to accounting and receipts of past and future rents collected by the City. Fletcher also sought compensation for damages to demolished buildings and requested a restraining order against the City for trespassing.

The November 8^th ruling was in response to an appeal filed after the initial suit was dismissed in June of last year. Judge E. Mac Amos Jr. upheld the Superior Court’s decision that nothing in the original agreement required that property ownership revert back to the original owners if the Navy vacated the site. A charitable trust was not created in the 1919 deeds that gave the land to the federal government. The federal government designated the City of San Diego as the official Local Redevelopment Authority for NTC.

The business district at Liberty Station broke ground this month on the construction of 380,000 square feet of Class A office space. The area is designated as a Local Agency Military Base Recovery Area (LAMBRA), which allows the City to extend California tax incentives to companies locating within the zone. Businesses will have the right to claim certain state income savings and other tax advantages.

Construction for the residential community that will offer 349 homes has begun and model homes at Liberty Station will open in December 2002. The architectural design is intended to fit with the character of Point Loma and recall the styles from the naval facility of old.

The new urban community will include 125 acres of parks and open spaces, including a six-acre waterfront esplanade, together with places for learning, a Civic, Arts and Cultural Center within the Historic District, retail spaces, and restaurants. The NTC Redevelopment Project is expected to create more than 8,000 permanent jobs, $2.2 million in annual property tax revenue, and $875,000 in annual tax revenue set-aside for low/moderate income housing.

The City of San Diego Redevelopment Agency eliminates blight from designated areas, as well as achieves the goals of development, reconstruction and rehabilitation of residential, commercial, industrial, and retail districts. Redevelopment is one of the most effective ways to breathe new life into deteriorated areas plagued by social, physical, environmental or economic conditions that act as a barrier to new investment by private enterprise. The City of San Diego Redevelopment Agency consists of three divisions: the City Redevelopment Division (housed in the City of San Diego Community and Economic Development Department), the Centre City Development Corporation and the Southeastern Economic Development Corporation.

Community & Economic Development