SAN DIEGO | Boom Rundown, Vol. 2

[mello]

Originally Posted by StatenIslander237

However, that being said, I'm very curious: how urgently is the city pursuing the construction of a new airport?

To answer your question no one from City or County is pushing the issue of a new airport. Lindbergh field is currently undergoing a major terminal expansion and double decking of the roadways for an arrival and departure level. This is over a billion dollar investment, not something that a region pushing to relocate an airport would usually do...

Another thing is Staten, to be honest development really isn't snowballing here. There is very little office space being built that isn't medical or research related (mostly with UCSD). Now that I think about it there is maybe 1 major private sector non research industry structure being built right now. I think it has to do with biotech.

The residential industry is not really taking off either, a couple of projects are getting going downtown now but I would hardly call it a "boom". One way I really think San Diego could get some things going is trying to attract Asian investment and tourism. To do this we will need to build on the once daily Tokyo flight we will be getting in December. I think a Shanghai, Seoul, Hong Kong, or Manila flight is a very good idea.

What San Diego officials are hoping is that the new 787 Dreamliner can be Lindbergh's savior in that it can go long distances, and carry a decent amount of passengers on a short runway unlike the 747 which needs a much longer runway to take off fully loaded with fuel and passengers.

Another possibility is that Palomar Airport in Carlsbad (a city which has a ton of hotels and some office space in its own right) can expand a bit and suck up a lot of the in California flights and possibly some flights from 3rd tier western destinations like Boise, Albuquerque etc. and relieve pressure from SAN so they can focus solely on flights from larger aircraft that are fully loaded to maximize efficiency.

[TGBinSD]

Originally Posted by kpexpress

I think this size/shape/massing is extremely appropriate for a courthouse. This is a sensible approach to this program.

i agree. i think it has some eye appeal at street level, as well. it doesn't wow me, but i think it's a good-looking project overall. i think a lot of the aesthetics will be determined by the materials used, cladding, etc.

[sandiego_urban]

Originally Posted by kpexpress

I think this size/shape/massing is extremely appropriate for a courthouse. This is a sensible approach to this program.

I can agree with this, and after seeing the models below, I actually like it more. With the proper lighting at night, it should make quite an impact in the skyline. The crown element is looks pretty cool.

Also, I read in another report, that it was going to be 17 floor and 370'. So if it's now 22 floors that would make it rise to 478', which isn't bad. The only negative is that it will add to the already "freshly mowed lawn" look of the skyline. Oh well, at least there are no balconies!





http://www.utsandiego.com/photos/gal...use-design/#/0

[LosAngelesDreamin]

Originally Posted by StatenIslander237

I don't visit this thread too often, but I do like both designs for the BOSA tower and the new courthouse. It seems like San Diego tries hard to make up for lack of height with exceptional design, and it pays off. I'd rather a bunch of gorgeous towers 500' high or less, than a bunch of shlocky 700-800' towers a la Miami.

However, that being said, I'm very curious: how urgently is the city pursuing the construction of a new airport? I've heard things here and there, but it doesn't seem to be considered a major issue to SD city officials, and I know that beyond the height limits, ever-increasing tourism has the airport constantly over-capacity. Especially here on a skyscraper site, I would expect that you all are waiting impatiently for that to happen so the 500' limit can finally be lifted. The way San Diego's development seems to be snowballing, I would hope that the city would move towards a replacement airport sooner rather than later. Where do you all stand?

I honestly support the airport to move to Miramar.. not only so that our height limit would be removed but it would be more centrally located.. not too far from north county and not too far from the southbay area

[dl3000]

I'm all for a relocation of the airport, my whole interest in airports came from realizing it was why San Diego was limited to 500'

[OneMetropolis]

Originally Posted by dl3000

I'm all for a relocation of the airport, my whole interest in airports came from realizing it was why San Diego was limited to 500'

Maybe it's better San Diego is restricted to 500 ft height limit. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise.

[HurricaneHugo]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesDreamin

then again i kinda like the 500' limit... it could be better off at 700' at the max but i think that SD has that "not too tall and not too short" feel to it... like a Goldilocks height or something haha

There's no such thing as too tall!

[HurricaneHugo]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesDreamin

I honestly support the airport to move to Miramar.. not only so that our height limit would be removed but it would be more centrally located.. not too far from north county and not too far from the southbay area

Not to mention how attractive that would be for businesses...

Don't know why they can't expand Yuma or any other regional rural bases

[Chapelo]

Originally Posted by mello

Now that I think about it there is maybe 1 major private sector non research industry structure being built right now. I think it has to do with biotech.

Not sure if this would be considered major, but there is a new office tower being built at the La Jolla Commons in UTC, it's for a financial services company (LPL Financial). It will be a twin of the existing building (see below)



Groundbreaking occurred last month, and the building should be completed by 2014.

[kpexpress]

Originally Posted by mello

So they are opposed to a lot in the Columbia district which is dead and not Little Italy being used as a lot to park buses and have drivers take a leak? I don't see how that would affect anyone. What is the logic behind their opposition...

They claim that these buses circulating in their neighborhood will kill the pedestrian environment, and bringing BRT down Broadway will destroy Broadway.

Again, non of their arguments are based on logic and hard data. SANDAG has, in fact, showed the math that BRT will actually decrease the amount of buses on Broadway.

[StatenIslander237]

Thanks mello, and everyone else. I was under the impression that there was more of a boom happening than there may actually be, but nonetheless, I think that if they don't necessarily want to replace San Diego Int'l, they should consider upgrading another regional airport to pick up some of the slack.

The Port Authority of NY/NJ is doing something similar with Stewart International Airport near Newburgh in upstate NY. In order to relieve the perpetually overcrowded airports closer to and within New York City, they are upgrading Stewart to handle more passengers from the close-in counties of upstate New York that would otherwise travel all the way down to Laguardia, JFK or Newark.

Not even because of the height limit, but as you said, to increase connections with other international destinations, especially in Asia. Interest by foreign investors is what's driving new development booms in other US cities (New York included) so San Diego can drive it's development in that way by physically reaching further out in the world.

[spoonman]

Originally Posted by Chapelo

Not sure if this would be considered major, but there is a new office tower being built at the La Jolla Commons in UTC, it's for a financial services company (LPL Financial). It will be a twin of the existing building (see below)



Groundbreaking occurred last month, and the building should be completed by 2014.

By Looking carefully at this picture and the map, the tower shown in this picture is actually the existing tower. One has to wonder whether LJC will build the new tower in place of one of the larger towers previously planned, or if room will be left for the largher towers down the road.

[SDfan]

^^^ I don't think they are ever going to build the larger towers. They had a hard enough time completing the shorter tower they have now at its shorter height after MCAS Miramar realized that the building was within their flight path.

I'm pretty sure that the Miramar height issue and the economy tanked the original 32 floor beauties and brought on the stout twin tower.

[HurricaneHugo]

Time to move Miramar damnit.

[eburress]

Originally Posted by spoonman

By Looking carefully at this picture and the map, the tower shown in this picture is actually the existing tower. One has to wonder whether LJC will build the new tower in place of one of the larger towers previously planned, or if room will be left for the largher towers down the road.

Your first guess was correct. This turd is being built directly on the spot of the originally planned condo or hotel tower (I can't remember which was which).

Not a fan of this building, as you can probably tell. It was built with the cheapest possible materials, in the most uninspiring possible way. Not sure why I'm surprised though.

[spoonman]

Originally Posted by eburress

Your first guess was correct. This turd is being built directly on the spot of the originally planned condo or hotel tower (I can't remember which was which).

Not a fan of this building, as you can probably tell. It was built with the cheapest possible materials, in the most uninspiring possible way. Not sure why I'm surprised though.

Funny, I like the tower because of the clean lines and mid-century look(although I'm not happy about the height). Different strokes I guess.

[eburress]

Originally Posted by spoonman

Funny, I like the tower because of the clean lines and mid-century look(although I'm not happy about the height). Different strokes I guess.

Clean lines and mid-century look I can get on board with. And really, I like the look of this render. The middle, white portion of the building is the source of the majority of my ire. It looks like it is cardboard painted white.

[HurricaneHugo]

We can all agree it would look better if it was twice as tall!

[kpexpress]

[tyleraf]

Woah! That is different.