San Diego voters in 2020 approved Measure C, an increase to the hotel room tax that would be used to expand the convention center, fund road repair and support homeless services.
Last May the city began collecting more from hotels. But an expansion of the Convention Center like the one mayors and councils tried to get done for 20 years may never happen.
The obstacles
The city of San Diego recently announced it would use the money to fix big existing problems at the Convention Center, including its failing roof and heating and cooling systems.
But the city does not control the land needed for an expansion. Fifth Avenue Landing LLC, led by Art Engel and Ray Carpenter, controlled that lease. The business previously helped with dredging and big machinery.
The partners insisted they should keep the lease to build a hotel there after they moved operations, as Voice of San Diego previously reported. A series of disputes with the city led to a settlement that prohibits the city from planning for a new expansion there until 2027.
But the city would not be able to plan anything anyway. In the last six years, inflation has soared, and the cost of building an expansion soared with it.
What now?
Despite the more than $40 million per year that will now come in to support the expansion of the Convention Center, it won’t be enough. City officials insist they will plan something more modest soon.
A big portion of the money was also supposed to provide more homeless services. But the deficit in the city is so bad that money will now only fund existing services.
So a big new tax increase that was supposed to be transformative for the city will now only help it keep the lights on.
