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City Heights

City Heights Redevelopment Project Area

Current News - Updated May 29, 2009

General Project Area Information
The City of San Diego's 1,984-acre City Heights Redevelopment Project Area, comprised of various community planning areas, focuses on education and beautification of the community. The centerpiece of the project area is the City Heights Urban Village, a public/private partnership effort that encompasses nine City blocks. Other focus areas include the Interstate 15 Corridor and the University Avenue and El Cajon Boulevard commercial corridors.

A variety of excellent redevelopment opportunities are afforded in City Heights due to several established commercial districts, multi-family and single-family housing, access via four major freeways and incentives offered for mixed-use and job inducing developments. The project area is bounded by Home and Euclid Avenues and 54th Street to the east, Meade and Monroe Avenues to the north, Home Avenue to the south, and Interstate 805 to the west.

Redevelopment Incentives

  • Site assembly
  • Fee reductions
  • Permitting assistance
  • Off-site improvements
  • Housing programs
  • Facade rebates
  • Low-cost financing incentives

Development Objectives

  • Commercial and mixed use projects
  • Affordable and market-rate housing developments and rehabilitation
  • Youth recreation and service centers
  • Transportation facilities
  • Living wage job creation
  • Increased homeowner occupancy

Demographic Information

  • Total Population - 65,450
  • Median Household Income - $19,393
  • Total Housing Units - 24,245
  • Total Labor Force - 27,404

Project Area Documents

To report difficulty accessing these documents or to request the documents in an alternative format, contact Melissa Garcia at (619) 236-6547.

Overlapping Programs

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City Heights Project Area Committee (PAC) Information

The City Heights Project Area Committee (PAC) is a 20-member community group that provides advice and community input on proposed redevelopment projects in the project area. The City Heights PAC meets on the second Monday of each month from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Meetings are held in the Metro Career Center Office Building Conference Room, located at 3910 University Avenue.

PAC meetings are open to the public, and all interested parties are encouraged to attend. Anyone interested in becoming a member of the PAC must be elected in the annual PAC Election, which takes place in November. The PAC is able to temporarily fill vacant seats by majority votes at their noticed meetings. For more information about the City Heights PAC, PAC Elections, or other issues regarding community involvement, please contact Melissa Garcia, Project Manager, at (619) 236-6547 or via E-mail at magarcia@sandiego.gov.

Redevelopment Projects

Talmadge Senior Village
Talmadge Senior Village, an attractive three-story mixed-use facility, has been under construction for more than a year and is now expected to open in October 2006. Located in the City Heights Redevelopment Project Area, the $18.6 million Talmadge Senior Village project will provide critically needed affordable housing opportunities to San Diego's senior citizens as well as commercial and community recreation uses. Talmadge Senior Village replaces an older motel at 5252 El Cajon Boulevard and offers housing at rents affordable to very low income senior citizens. The development is in close proximity to vital senior services such as public transportation, grocery markets, park, medical centers and pharmacies.

Auburn Park Apartments
Auburn Park Family Apartments, a $22.4 million redevelopment project, will create additional affordable housing for San Diegans and enhance the continued revitalization of City Heights. Located on the southwest corner of University Avenue and 52nd Street, the 69-unit housing development is designed for very low- and low-income families earning from 30 to 60 percent of the Area Median Income. The development will offer 6 studios, 27 one-bedroom, 14 two-bedroom and 22 three-bedroom units for individuals and families that fall into income guidelines. Two units will serve as onsite management and maintenance staff units. The project will also provide a new public park and enhanced open space area in the immediately adjacent Auburn Creek. Construction is anticipated to be complete in late 2007.

City Heights Square Project
The City Heights Square master planned redevelopment project is a collaboration between the City of San Diego Redevelopment Agency, San Diego Revitalization Corporation, Chelsea Investment Corporation, Senior Community Centers of San Diego and La Maestra Family Clinics. The project will provide a variety of community servicing amenities, including office and retail space, critically needed affordable housing for seniors, a medical clinic and a 5,348-square foot pocket park. Combined, the developments represent an investment of more than $76 million in the City Heights community. Construction of the senior housing project is underway and scheduled for completion by mid-2007.

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State Route 15 Improvements
Until 1998, State Route 15 terminated in City Heights, dumping heavy traffic onto local streets of the community. To address this issue, the State of California worked extensively with the City of San Diego, local schools, Metropolitan Transit Service and local community organizations to design and install a depressed freeway through the Mid-City neighborhoods. This $150 million project includes the construction of a 2.2-mile freeway extension between Interstate 805 and Adams Avenue, three new public parks, including the four-acre Teralta Park which sits on a lid over the submerged freeway, as well as extensive architectural enhancements and community amenities. Four enhanced bridge decks are now complete. The new enhancements include retail and restroom buildings, decorative bus shelters, trellises, landscaping, sound attenuation walls and public art.

Metro Center and Metro Villas
The City Heights Metro Center Project transformed a once blighted property into a dynamic, mixed-use development that provides multiple benefits for the surrounding neighborhood and the entire San Diego region. The $47 million project is located at the northwest corner of University Avenue and State Route 15. The project includes both office and housing components, the Metro Career Center and Metro Villas, respectively. The attractive four-story office building and 120 new affordable family housing units feature ample structured parking and landscaped open space areas. The primary tenant in the office building is Workforce Partnership, which provides comprehensive job training and placement services for San Diego County.

Regional Transportation Center
The Regional Transportation Center (RTC) is an innovative mixed-use project designed to introduce San Diego residents to the benefits of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs). The RTC signature architectural design transformed a formally blighted commercial corner of the City Heights community into an impressive commercial and public service development. This $12.5 million facility includes an education center, conventional and alternative fuel vehicle display, repair center and fueling station - combining non-profit educational and for-profit commercial components. The project also houses several other commercial and office uses in its upstairs leased space. RTC is one of the most comprehensive alternative fuel vehicle centers in the state of California.

City Heights Urban Village
The eight-block City Heights Urban Village is an award-winning master planned redevelopment project in which multiple public and private uses coexist in a communal village setting. Through the restoration of the City Heights commercial core and the establishment of this pedestrian-friendly town square, the multi-phased Urban Village is fundamentally changing the social and physical environment of this diverse community. Individual components within the Urban Village include: Mid-City Police Substation, Mid-City Community Gymnasium, Rosa Parks Elementary School, Weingart City Heights Library, City Heights Recreation Center, Mid-City Continuing Education Center, City Heights Retail Center, Village Townhomes and Office Center, Performing Arts Center, Head Start Center and community swimming pool.

Affordable Housing Information

Project Area Contact Information

For more information about the City Heights Redevelopment Project Area, please contact the following:

Melissa Garcia
Project Area Manager
(619) 236-6547
magarcia@sandiego.gov.

Krissy Toft
Project Area Manager
(619) 236-6534
ktoft@sandiego.gov

The Redevelopment Agency of the City of San Diego
1200 Third Avenue, 14th Floor, MS 56D
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 236-6700
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