City Council Approves Controversial Legacy International Center Project

The San Diego City Council has approved a controversial religious retreat planned for Mission Valley. 

The $160 million Legacy International Center, set to be built at the Mission Valley Resort site, passed 7 to 2 Tuesday. 

The Legacy International Center plans to feature replicas of Roman catacombs and Jerusalem’s Wailing Wall on the 18-acre lot, according to the developer’s website. The hotel on site will have 127 rooms. 

Televangelist Morris Cerullo describes the site as a tourist attraction in an online promotional video, saying the idea for it came to him from Jesus in a dream.

The location is near the Interstate 8 freeway in Mission Valley, just down the hill from Hillcrest and UCSD Medical Center.

Last month, the City Council delayed a decision on the project because of traffic concerns in Hotel Circle. 

The project has faced opposition from San Diego's LGBTQ community, too.

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Some have expressed concern over Cerullo’s belief in trying to turn gay people straight.

“Thinking you can be changed from your orientation, it’s really a step backwards in where we are as a community. It really has no place in San Diego,” said Will Rodriguez-Kennedy, the president of the San Diego Democrats for Equality club.