SAN DIEGO (KOGO) – The public comment period on the NAVWAR revitalization plan is ending soon.
San Diego residents have until August 12th to make their voices heard about the redevelopment plan for Naval Base Point Loma’s Old Town Campus. The 70-acre site, formerly known as SPAWAR, sits along Pacific Highway between Old Town and the Midway district. The white buildings near the 5 freeway were once used to assemble airplanes. But the Navy says the old buildings are obsolete, and not a good fit for its cybersecurity operations.
NAVWAR's operations are currently housed in former airplane manufacturing buildings on Pacific Highway.
The Navy released a revitalization plan with several alternatives back in May. Their preferred alternative is to partner with a developer to build new facilities for Naval Information Warfare System Command (NAVWAR). The rest of the site would become high rise housing – about 10,000 new units, according to the plan. Hotels and retail would also be mixed in, and the plan also includes a new transit center, just a few yards south of the existing Old Town Transit Center.
This building and parking lot on Sports Arena Blvd. are a part of the more than 70 acres the Navy hopes to redevelop.
While the Navy and local leaders have touted the redevelopment plans as a benefit to the city, some residents are not sold on the proposals.
“Any of the alternatives that call for development… for high rise, high price condominiums. That’s not what we need,” says Phil Halpern, a former U.S. Attorney and longtime San Diego resident.
“What we need to improve the lives of people in this city would be open land that everyone can take advantage of,” he added.
Halpern is a part of the group Save San Diego’s Character, which supports the Navy’s first alternative, which is to demolish unused buildings and modernize others, maintaining the architectural integrity of the surrounding community. Halpern says he doesn’t want San Diego to become like Los Angeles in terms of urban density and traffic and infrastructure issues.
Public comments on the project can be made on the NAVWAR Revitalization website.