The recent $110 million appraisal of the Qualcomm Stadium property will not keep them from pursuing the SoccerCity redevelopment plan.
Investors hoping to lure a Major League Soccer franchise to San Diego say they will continue to push for the project, even though a recent appraisal of the property's value came in a lot higher than expected.
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A La Jolla-based investment group wants to demolish Qualcomm Stadium, tear up the parking lot and redevelop the area. FS Investors wants to build a soccer stadium, housing, commercial and office space, hotels, and a new river park. It is a project they call SoccerCity.
The new valuation of the property before improvements was twice as high as the most expensive valuation in a year-old estimate by another local developer, JMI Realty. The new appraisal means San Diego will likely get a bigger financial kick than FS Investors initially expected.
"It's an ongoing annual lease payment and the fair market value acts as the basis for that. And it's the value that establishes the price for the land when we purchase it for the initiative," said Nick Stone of FS Investors.
The appraisal will help determine the terms of the lease that gets signed with the city.
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"It'll be a combination of lump sum payments and annual rent stream payments. All in, that will create, in addition to the taxes, tens and tens of millions of dollars a year in cash flow for the city and the county and schools," Stone said.
No lease will be discussed until after voters weigh in. Developers say a November vote is needed to keep the city's bid for a professional soccer team alive.
The City Council on Monday rejected a plan to conduct a special election for this fall that potentially would have included the proposed SoccerCity redevelopment of the Qualcomm Stadium property.
