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Navy Broadway Master Plan Approved Conditionally

After seven months of public debate, San Diego’s Center City Development Corporation has approved the Master Plan of the 15 acre Navy Broadway site on San Diego Bay. However the vote on the landmark

After seven months of public debate, San Diego’s Center City Development Corporation has approved the Master Plan of the 15 acre Navy Broadway site on San Diego Bay. However the vote on the landmark waterfront property is conditional. KPBS reporter Alison St John has more.

The vote is a significant step for the developer, Doug Manchester, who said he would not sign a lease agreement with the Navy without the CCDC’s approval. However Board member Wayne Raffesberger says the vote allows the CCDC to reserve the right to weigh in on  specific architectural designs for the landmark site in the future.

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Raffesberger: We can make this project dramatically better than it is at the moment and we are not forfeiting that opportunity by voting today. 

In fact the board did not approve the design for the first building planned on the site, a new $200 million headquarters for the Navy’s Southwest Regional Command. Some described it as ugly and blocky. The developer will come back next month with an updated design.

Community groups and the Coastal Commission warned they still plan to appeal the project’s environmental permit. If the Navy hasn’t signed a lease with the developer by the end of the year, the whole property reverts to the federal government. Alison St John, KPBS News.

(Photo: Rendering of Navy Broadway Complex project, Courtesy of the Manchester Group, 2006 )