NBC 7’s Kelvin Henry has more details of why it happened and what lies ahead.
Dozens of business owners in the Otay Mesa community of San Diego are looking for new spaces after being evicted to make way for a redevelopment project.
“May 10th, we were here minding our business, doing our installations, and all of a sudden the sheriff came and shut our whole operation down,” said Alfredo Garcia, the co-owner of Heritage Auto Glass.
Not much time was given for business owners to gather their belongings, according to Garcia.
"We did bring out the most important things," Garcia said. "Our forklifts and stuff, and after that our communication systems like phones and a desk and paperwork, and after that they put the chains and that’s it."
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City of San Diego staff released the following statement to NBC 7 regarding the matter:
"The city of San Diego has been engaged in a multi-year public-private partnership in the redevelopment of Brown Field Airport, which will include the construction of state-of-the-art commercial and aviation facilities. This project will serve as a gateway for international trade and will provide economic benefits to the community and create sustainable jobs. Moreover, this 331-acre project is expected to be built in phases over 20 years and will include a new Fixed Base Operator terminal building, individual airplane hangars, and new roads to allow for increased connectivity in the Otay Mesa area. Additional development will include more than a million square feet of commercial and industrial buildings and a hotel with a restaurant.
"The city previously had a lease agreement with Aero-Abre for part of the property at Brown Field. This leaseholder had subleased to dozens of tenants for storage space on the property. In May 2022, the lease agreement was terminated to allow the redevelopment plans to move forward. However, as early as 2019, the city had notified the leaseholder of the redevelopment plans and the eventual need to vacate the property. The leaseholder stopped responding to the city, prompting the city to pursue legal action with the master lease holder.
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"After almost two years of legal proceedings, the city of San Diego is now moving forward with the long-anticipated plans to regain possession of the Aero-Abre leasehold. Occupants who had been leasing space from the master leaseholder are being notified directly and noticing will continue over the course of the next six weeks.
"If the occupants are not able to move their property by the date listed on the eviction notices, they can contact city airport staff and arrange for the removal of their property. The phone number is provided with the notices being delivered to the occupants."
In the meantime, Garcia and other business owners are trying to shift their operations to a new location.
NBC 7 reached to Aero-Abre but it has not responded to our request for comment.
