Port Approves Major Steps in Development Projects

CONTACT: Brianne Mundy Page, 619.348.1518, bpage@portofsandiego.org

The Port of San Diego continues to make significant progress on the Chula Vista Bayfront resort hotel and convention center project. On June 18, 2019, the Board of Port Commissioners authorized issuance of a Coastal Development Permit (CDP) and granted project approval to RIDA Chula Vista, LLC, the Port’s development partner on the project.

“These are significant milestones. We’ve been working diligently with the City of Chula Vista and the RIDA Development Corporation. Residents from around the region as well as visitors and conventioneers can experience our revitalized bayfront. Thousands of folks will be employed at the Chula Vista Bayfront,” said Chairman Garry Bonelli, Board of Port Commissioners.

“This is a great day for Chula Vista, the Port of San Diego and the region,” said Chula Vista Mayor Mary Casillas Salas. “We are thrilled the Port Commissioners approved the development permit for RIDA Development to construct our world-class hotel and convention center on the Chula Vista Bayfront. We look forward to the groundbreaking celebration in 2020!”

“We established many goals in the very beginning and we’re delivering. This project will bring a world-class hotel and convention center to the Chula Vista Bayfront while also providing a vehicle to build future public parks, restore sensitive habitat, and construct public infrastructure. This is an important project for the South Bay and it couldn’t happen without the collaboration between the Port, the City and RIDA,” said Port of San Diego Commissioner Ann Moore, the Board’s Chula Vista Representative.

After the Port issues the CDP to RIDA, next steps include securing financing, obtaining building and grading permits, close of escrow and lease execution. The Port currently anticipates site preparation and public infrastructure to begin in mid-2020.

“We were very pleased to receive unanimous approval from the Port of San Diego, supported by the City of Chula Vista. We appreciate their collaborative partnership to date and look forward to working together to complete documentation and begin construction of the finest conference resort in the country,” said Ira Mitzner, President of RIDA Development Corporation.

The Chula Vista Bayfront resort hotel and convention center will be operated by Gaylord Hotels, the large convention hotel brand of Marriott International. It will include:

-up to 1,600 hotel rooms;
-approximately 400,000 square feet of convention and meeting space (including pre-function space);
-retail and resort-level amenities such as:
-restaurant/bar/lounge facilities;
-recreational facilities;
-a spa;
-a pool with a lazy river;
-bike and boat rentals; and more.

To ensure connectivity between the resort hotel and convention center and the wider Chula Vista Bayfront area, this project includes a Public Access Plan. Highlights include a public esplanade and a plaza and activity village with pedestrian promenades and bike paths, dining and snack stands, game activities, public art, and a pool with public access. The public will also be able to enjoy shopping and dining amenities, viewing terraces and lookout points, water features, beach games and more.

The project will be constructed west of Marina Parkway between H and G Streets. Public infrastructure improvements will begin first and could get underway in mid-2020, which includes preliminary site preparation, building access roads and new public streets (portions of E, G and H Streets), and providing utility services.

The project cost is estimated to be approximately $1.13 billion and is expected to have a tremendous regional economic impact, generating approximately $1.3 billion. RIDA estimates approximately 10,000 jobs (both direct and indirect) will be created during the construction period, and once built, another $475 million is anticipated to be generated per year with 1,500 permanent jobs created.

The resort hotel and convention center is the centerpiece and catalyst project of the Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan (CVBMP), a decade-long joint planning effort by the Port, the City of Chula Vista and a broad coalition of stakeholders. The CVBMP was collaboratively planned through extensive public outreach that included more than 100 community meetings and resulted in a comprehensive Environmental Impact Report and Port Master Plan Amendment, which was approved by the Board in May 2010 and certified by the California Coastal Commission in August 2012. When complete, the public will enjoy more than 200 acres of parks, a shoreline promenade, walking trails, RV camping, shopping, dining and more. The CVBMP also establishes ecological buffers to protect wildlife habitat, species and other coastal resources.