More work needed: Seaport San Diego project gets mixed reviews at public workshop

The view of the proposed Seaport San Diego project as seen from a relocated Ruocco Park on the peninsula where Embarcadero Marina Park North is today. The 500-foot observation tower, event center and other hotels contemplated in the project can be seen in the background.(Courtesy, Seaport San Diego. Master Architect: CallisonRTKL Inc.; Iconic Tower: BIG; Landscape: OJB.)

JULY 22, 2022 2:47 PM PT – SD Union-Tribune 
BY JENNIFER VAN GROVE 

It’s not back to the drawing board, but the developer proposing to redo downtown’s broader Central Embarcadero with hotels, attractions and new marinas will need to revise — and perhaps even eliminate — some key elements of the mega project known as Seaport San Diego. 

Thursday, Port of San Diego Commissioners expressed opposing views of 1HWY1’s Seaport project during a 4.5-hour-long workshop where public concerns about the overall size of the project, the developer’s fraught relationship with local fishermen and the volume of the project’s boat slips dominated the conversation. Still, the general tenor of the discussion suggested a path forward where the road to approval appeared blocked just a few months ago. 

“I think that we continue to move down the right path,” Port Commissioner Rafael Castellanos said. “I know it’s controversial and a lot of folks aren’t going to like it. But there are a lot of folks who don’t just like it, they love it. And so I’m not entirely there yet, but I’m supportive of the vision. I’d like to see the transformative project come to fruition on this site.” 
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Like Castellanos, Commissioners Dan Malcolm and Ann Moore said they see the project — and its more than 2,000 hotel rooms — as an appropriate fit for downtown’s urban waterfront. 

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