The former downtown home of the then-minor league San Diego Padres will be converted into a $325 million waterfront hotel and retail complex under a conceptual plan approved by the San Diego Port Commission.
The commission voted unanimously to develop 5.8 acres at the site - now a parking lot - with two luxury hotels, retail shops and restaurants overlooking the San Diego cruise ship terminal. One developer said about 40 percent of the site will be covered with landscaping.
Tuesday's vote was a step toward completing the project by 2010, as the developers hope to do. An environmental review is next, and then the commission will need to approve the project's design. Construction may begin early next year.
The site would house a 23-story, 550-room InterContinental hotel and a 17-story, 300-room Woodfin Suites hotel. The buildings may become some of the most recognizable structures in the city.
The Pacific Coast League's San Diego Padres called Lane Field home from 1936 to 1957.
