San Diego selects Midway Rising to redevelop sports arena site
In the real estate competition to lease and redo the city’s 48-acre sports arena site, San Diego has selected as its winner the development team proposing the most affordable residential units.
City Council members voted 7-1 on Tuesday to select Midway Rising. The vote came after a sometimes-heated discussion that put the team, its partners and even potential subcontractors under the microscope on a variety of topics, including allegations of deceptive labor practices.
Midway Rising includes market-rate housing developer Zephyr, sports-and-entertainment venue operator Legends and affordable-housing builder Chelsea Investment Corp. The team is proposing to develop the city’s sports arena holdings with 2,000 units deed-restricted for low- and very-low-income families at an average affordability of 48 percent of the area median income.
The group’s plan also calls for 250 middle-income units, 2,000 market-rate units, a new 16,000-seat arena, a 200-room hotel and 4,500 parking spaces. The project includes 20 acres of plaza and park space, including 4.2 acres of rooftop parks.
Team members from Midway Rising’s now-eliminated rivals also sought to call attention to perceived flaws in the winning bid.
“I’m perplexed why we are not asking tough questions regarding the arena proposals. A new 16,000-seat arena with parking (and) 4,000 new residential units does not fit on this site. This is putting 20 pounds of stuff in a 10-pound bag that will crush the Midway District and the surrounding communities,” said Erik Judson, who is CEO of JMI Sports and is part of the HomeTownSD team.
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com...rts-arena-site