Death to East Village?
Architect / developer Graham Downes says putting a stadium in the Downtown district is a very bad idea
A football stadium in East Village? Architect/developer Graham Downes calls it “an idiotic idea.”
“It will be the death of the area,” he said. “You have this behemoth structure that’s very vertical just sitting there in the middle of town, just sapping all the energy out of the place.”
Downes, a vanguard in East Village’s redevelopment, has long been interested in the area’s industrial past and the potential re-use of its warehouses. He heads Blokhaus, a development company that, among other projects, overhauled the Wonder Bread Factory, the historic building on 14th Street, between Imperial Avenue and K Street, that’s become the reference point for a stadium site but was once part of Downes’ vision for East Village: a hip-yet-gritty live/work area—akin to Vancouver’s Yaletown—that connects seamlessly to Downtown and Barrio Logan, each neighborhood flowing into the next without losing its individual character.
“Somebody should do some visuals so they can see the impact of these two huge stadiums next to each other,” he said. “You can’t walk around them, you can’t walk through them. It’s like a walled city, like you plunked a castle in the middle. It’s somebody’s monument.”
An East Village stadium is far from a done deal, but discussions about its feasibility are moving forward faster than any other proposal put forward in the seven years since the Chargers first expressed interest in moving, arguing in 2002 that continued use of Qualcomm Stadium compromised the team’s “economic viability.”
On Oct. 30, online news site voiceofsandiego.org reported that Mayor Jerry Sanders had met with Chargers President Dean Spanos; Chargers special counsel Mark Fabiani confirmed for a voice reporter that East Village was discussed. And, on Wednesday, Nov. 18, the board of directors for the Centre City Development Corp., the agency that oversees Downtown redevelopment, will vote on spending $160,000 on a consultant to study the stadium’s feasibility.
Darren Pudgil, Sanders’ spokesperson, told voice that the mayor’s preference was for the Chargers to stay in Mission Valley. It’s Downes’ preference, too.
“We need urban development Downtown,” he said. “A ballpark is not an urban development; it’s suburban development. It needs to be out in the sticks where there’s lots of parking, where cars can queue in line for ages without impacting the area.”
So far, only about 10 acres of land in East Village has been identified for a stadium—miniscule compared to the 592 square acres the City of Industry is making available for its proposed stadium. Last month, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation exempting the L.A. area stadium from environmental review, further putting the pressure on San Diego County to site a new stadium or risk losing the Chargers to L.A.
On Monday, Downes dissolved his interest in the Wonder Bread building—he had been the controlling leaseholder. He did it for multiple reasons, he said, not just the stadium. But, he added, “lots of people have land in that area who are trying to make things happen. No one’s going to come down [to East Village] because they’re going to say, ‘Well, if I set up there, print up business cards and start to get cozy and the Chargers come in, I’m toast.’”
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Comments
I don't know if SD needs the Chargers or if the Chargers can afford to operate in Fortune-500-deficient SD. I also don't know where or if there should be a new stadium. But if a downtown stadium can't get people out of their cars, nothing can.
Death to East Village?
I doesn't seem to me that there is life in the "East Village" to bring death to. Every quote from Mr. Downes seems self interested, subjective, and narrow minded. Where exactly are all these local small developers supposed to come from when most, if not all of them have been put out of business. The majority of the new development downtown was created by national builders/developers. Which once the bubble burst left town with their money and jobs. I hardly see any type of legacy to tarnish when the area we're talking about has traditionally been and industrial and commercial zone. How would relocating the stadium further away from the blue collar people that buy the tickets be advantageous to the community? The Electricians, truck drivers, and construction workers that built downtown are the people who will buying tickets to the games. Why not build it near their homes, not in an area of urban sprawl where they can't afford to live. Obivously Mr. Downes has never been to a metropolitan city where major projects are the norm and taken as a part of urban life. I rarely hear New Yorkers complain about the buildings in Manhattan.
Is Quallcomm "sapping the energy" from mission valley? And what "energy" are we talking about in the overpriced condo-dominated new neighborhoods of downtown. As if the people who can afford to live downtown walk or get out of their cars. It seems to me that you'd want people coming downtown and walking. Using the trolley, busses and coaster systems. This is what makes an environment like downtown San Diego, turn into the type of place that he's talking about. I've never heard of a developer who is against foot traffic. Without the foot traffic generated by Petco Park a business like "Basic" wouldn't work economically.
The Charger fans need a new place to watch the team, the City stands to make money by selling the Quallcomm property. I'd like to hear some informed opinions about this proposal not just the same old scare tactics.