After years of delays and legal challenges, the mixed-use Midway Rising development is one step closer in San Diego.
On Friday, the San Diego City Council’s Land Use and Housing Committee will consider the city’s development agreement and financial arrangements for the project.
The proposed Midway Rising Project is large and expensive.
It covers the city's 48.5-acre Sports Arena property and includes parks and parking, a new 16,000-seat arena and 4,254 new apartments — 2,000 of which would be affordable to low-income renters.
The total estimated construction cost is now $4.2 billion.
“The core economic deal between the city of San Diego and Midway Rising is to provide those three items: a new entertainment center, privately funded and privately operated; new infrastructure, including privately-funded public parks that are privately maintained; as well as roadway intersection and utility infrastructure improvements for the property and also off-site the property. And the additional affordable housing,” said Ryan Herrell, a member of the Midway Rising development team.
This next step for the Midway Rising redevelopment comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 344 and Senate Bill 958 in late August.
The bills affect California Environmental Quality Act regulations for the development. Previously those regulations led to legal challenges.
“The voters have twice approved lifting the height limit for the Midway Rising project, twice that's gotten overturned in the court of appeal because of the way the city did the environmental review. That barrier has now been cleared by the state legislature,” said former San Diego city planning director Bill Fulton.
John McNab is president of Save Our Access. The organization has successfully sued the city to stop the project in the past and continues to oppose it.
The land would be better served as a sports and recreation park, he said.
“We own this. And the question is why are we saying the best return must be for the private developer instead of saying the best return is for the general public? And we haven't had that. And that's why they didn't do the Environmental Impact Report,” McNab said.
The city’s office of the Independent Budget Analyst published its review of the development agreement and financial arrangements on Monday. It said the proposed agreements represent a “fair and reasonable transaction for the City.”
The IBA report also said they estimate “that the City could receive approximately $884 million to $1.23 billion in ticket fees and rental revenues over the approximate 105-year duration of the various agreements.”
If the Land Use and Housing Committee advances the development agreement the item is expected to go before the full city council in November.
The Midway Rising development team said if approved by full council this fall, they anticipate to break ground by early 2028. They estimate construction will last 10 to 15 years.
The city said Midway Rising would be the largest affordable housing project in California history.
