Major changes are coming to Point Loma.
The owner of Mister A’s restaurant in Bankers Hill plans to launch a $15 million, 7-acre transformation project at Liberty Station that will add a restaurant, a wedding venue, a bakery and more.
On the edge of Liberty Station, you might have noticed the somewhat run down, mostly vacant buildings along Rosecrans near Dewey Road.
Ryan Thorsen, the managing partner of Revival Hospitality, plans to build a full-service social hub that maintains its vintage charm.
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There are five 1920s era buildings that will each represent a specific era of history at the former NTC grounds.
“I drove by all the time. I’m a Point Loma resident, and I love it here. I think it’s such a special community, and it didn’t make sense to me that no one had done something to all of these buildings,” Thorsen told NBC 7.
The buildings were once the Navy leadership quarters. Much of it has remained untouched since then.
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“You can see the bones and how gorgeous the buildings were at one point, but there’s graffiti. They are pretty run down,” Thorsen said.
After a few years of trying, he is finally on board with NTC to build a social hub he believes will round out Liberty Station as a destination for all ages, all day. He will call it “The Admiral.”
For Thorsen's vision, think restoring the historic dignity of the buildings, while breathing in new life, like he did with Mister A’s.
“And that’s the thing we are most honored to do, is to bring them back to that glory that they were known for,” Thorsen said.
There will be sprawling gardens with amazing views of the San Diego skyline and the tip of Point Loma. The main building will be the main venue: a two-story, 1923 Spanish revival home, hosting weddings and events.
"Picture you’re getting out of a charter. You’re coming to a wedding event here. Walk up these steps. Live music playing to the right side,” Thorsen said.
There will be a canteen with its own bakery and winery, a turn-of-the-century game room, a Hemingway-style bar and a 140-seat restaurant.
"This is the window where you'll see people shucking oysters,” Thorsen said as he took NBC 7 on a tour of the grounds.
Thorsen said this project is larger than his previous ones, but he is confident they will succeed at restoring some of San Diego's history while propelling it into the future.
“Something that’s meant to last. It’s some things that’s supposed to be tenured. And in this industry, for how hard it is, it’s really what I intend to do — to only do things that are here to last and to build story,” Thorsen said.
The project is slated to break ground in 2025 and be completed by the summer of 2026.
