Southeast S.D. Poised for Year of Progress
Based on the progress made in the past year by the City of San Diego, the Southeast Economic Development Corp. and private investors, the future of Southeast San Diego and adjacent inner-city areas is an ever-brightening economic picture.
1987 will be a year of exceptional progress for this community, made up of distinct neighborhoods such as Sherman Heights, Logan Heights, Barrio Logan, Southeast, Southcrest, Chollas Heights, Valencia Park, Encanto and Skyline.
There has been almost no new commercial or industrial construction, and very little new quality housing construction in Southeast San Diego over the last 20 years. Despite the availability of land, the economic growth and development experienced by the rest of the city and county have passed this community by.
Not unlike inner-city areas of many major cities, Southeast has high unemployment, especially among out-of-school youths. There are few jobs in the community, and there is a greater dependence on public transportation to get to jobs and commercial services. Shopping facilities are also scarce, with no major supermarkets; the small stores do not offer top-quality goods and services.
Over the years, some well-intentioned investment advisers have suggested looking elsewhere for opportunities.
However, the public and private sectors are proving these naysayers wrong.
In 1980, the city created the Southeast Economic Development Corp. (SEDC) to stimulate investment in the area and bring more jobs and services to the community.
The city has also supported Project First Class, which has resulted in the most comprehensive physical improvement and volunteer effort in the city’s history.
Project First Class has also sparked an ordinance to discourage the construction of poorly designed multifamily developments, and has initiated a landscaping program for the older commercial districts and the major streets in the community. These efforts encourage investment in Southeast San Diego by demonstrating to business owners and investors that the city has a new commitment to the future of Southeast.
These efforts are now beginning to have a visible impact.
Gateway Center Industrial Park
Southeast San Diego’s most visible evidence of economic change can be seen by commuters driving on California 94, just east of downtown. Immediately south of the intersection of State 94 and Interstate 15 is SEDC’s Gateway Center Industrial Park.
New industrial buildings are rising, site pads have been graded, streets and sidewalks are in, and landscaping is being installed. Six of the new businesses are operating and community residents are being hired to fill jobs there.
Two years ago, SEDC was struggling to persuade businesses to locate in the Gateway Center--a problem not dissimilar to that faced by Centre City Development Corp. in its early years of attracting investment to downtown San Diego.
The 65-acre Gateway Center East site is almost sold out, and the 65-acre Gateway Center West site, just to the west of I-15, is nearing the same stage.
Seven Gateway Center businesses will be in operation in early 1987, and 12 more will be completed or under construction by the end of the year.
Firms in Gateway Center East include Figi Graphics, Muehlheisen Manufacturing, Westerfield Co. and Quality Cabinets. Those in Gateway Center West include Unitog Rental and Nelson Photo. The Gateway Center West facility for Industries Supply Co. will soon be completed.
There will be about 600 people employed by these companies by 1989.
The success of the Gateway Center will stimulate further industrial and commercial investment in the Southeast community; it has already stimulated the creation of a major commercial facility to be located in Gateway Center East. The 50,000-square-foot retail facility will be operated in conjunction with a retail training school.
The retail center will include a supermarket, and will offer hardware, clothing, appliances and other goods. It will be operated by a nonprofit corporation and will be built by the end of 1987, with funding provided by a trust controlled by retailer Sol Price.
The Gateway Center complex represents the first major commercial facility to be built in Southeast since the Otto Square Shopping Center was constructed in the early 1960s by developer Ernest Hahn.
Enterprise Zone
Business investment will also be stimulated by the recently announced Enterprise Zone, which includes much of the western part of Southeast San Diego, the Barrio Logan area and the southeastern portion of downtown. San Diego’s Enterprise Zone is one of 13 designated throughout the state.
The Enterprise Zones were created through legislation authored by state Assembly members Pat Nolan (R-Glendale) and Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), and are patterned after successful zone efforts in more than two dozen other states.
Enterprise Zones stimulate commercial and industrial investment in older areas through employer and employee tax incentives, investment tax credits, and priority for state and other types of contracts.
More Industry
There is substantial land available for business development in the area. Business properties are conveniently located along the Euclid Line of the San Diego Trolley, both in the industrial area along the recently upgraded Commercial Street between I-5 and 32nd Street, and along the trolley line near the Euclid station.
Land will also become available for light industrial and commercial development as early as late 1987 in the recently acquired California 252 corridor at the 43rd Street exit off I-805.
This land will be redeveloped by the city for business and residential use, as part of a $100-million public and private venture that will include more than 700 residential units and a business park with about 10 acres of commercial and 6.5 acres of light industrial use.
In addition, land is becoming available for commercial and industrial development in the Barrio Logan area, as auto junkyards and similar businesses continue to relocate to other areas of the county. Plans call for an industrial-business redevelopment project in the southeastern part of downtown where it adjoins the Barrio Logan and Southeast communities.
Residential Construction
The Mid-City area’s substantial increase in residential construction--its “in-fill development”--has included construction on vacant lots, creation of new lots in canyons, and demolition of older homes and rebuilding at higher densities.
The population increase has brought with it a number of problems, including overcrowded schools, inadequate parking and difficulties with older water and sewer lines.
The Southeast community has experienced some residential growth, but as yet it has not reached the proportions where it would cause problems similar to those experienced in Mid-City.
Fueled by the economy, residential construction has increased substantially in the last few months.
Many housing units are under construction, and quite a few projects are winding through the city’s plan-approval and permit process. Given the projections for a stable economy and low interest rates in the near term, residential construction in Southeast is expected to continue to expand in 1987.
SEDC and the Housing Commission will allow the city to have a major part in the expansion of housing construction in Southeast San Diego, through community input on site design and density issues, joint ventures with developers, and providing financial assistance.
The Outlook
While the naysayers might suggest that 1987’s economic opportunity is elsewhere, the more informed and enterprising investor knows that some of the best economic opportunities are in the heart of the city.
That’s why more and more talented entrepreneurs are relocating their businesses to Southeast, and others who are already there are expanding.
