Layout 3 - San Diego Metropolitan

S A N D I EG O S C E N E
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SAN DIEGO SCENE
Planning Commission Approves
23-Acre Grantville Project
The San Diego Planning Commission has approved a 23acre
redevelopment project that will bring close to 1,000 multiple-family
units, a number of retail stores and a 5.3-acre river
park to what developers said has been an eyesore in Grantville
for several years. The project, called Riverbend, will go to the
San Diego City Council in late September for the final approval
needed to change the land use designation from its current
industrial use to residential mixed-use. Urban Housing
Partners, the development team, said the project will be built
in phases starting in 2014 with complete buildout expected
by 2019. “The Riverbend vision is to take what is now an eyesore
for the Grantville community and turn it into a smart
growth project that will provide a much better use for the
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community,” said Sherman Harmer, principal of Urban Housing
Partners.
Located east of Mission Gorge Road at its intersection with
Old Cliffs Road, the proposed 23-acre project site has been
owned by the same families for more than 40 years. During
this time, the San Diego River-adjacent land has been used
for auto storage, trailer sales, concrete mixing and trucking
and recreational vehicle sales yards. Harmer said Riverbend
will infuse more than $23 million into the local economy from
mitigation and impact fees. The community park will create
the only public access point to the river east of Qualcomm
Stadium and will be maintained in perpetuity by the Riverbend
Homeowers Association, which will relieve the city of
San Diego from a significant park maintenance expense, according
to Urban Housing Partners.