Midway Rising Project On Track to Bring Thousands of Housing Units, New Arena to San Diego

The partners behind the development project that plans to revitalize the Midway District and Sports Arena hosted a community workshop at the downtown San Diego central library Thursday.

The Midway Rising project, as it's called, is comprised of the Chelsea Investment Corporation, Zephyr and Legends. They are the affordable housing partners, the market-rate housing partners and the arena partner, respectively.

Selected by the city of San Diego in 2021, the project includes a brand-new, 16,000-seat, state-of-the-art arena, a hotel, 4,000 housing units, 20 acres of green space, childcare and healthcare facilities, among others.

Jim Andersen, with the Chelsea Investment Corporation, touted the new proposed arena he believes will attract large music acts that would often pass up a San Diego stop because of their indoor arena needs.

“They better stop in San Diego and they need to stop in San Diego and that’s what we really want to bring to the area, is the opportunity to see world-class acts,” said Andersen.

With more than 4,000 proposed housing units, 2, 000 will be considered affordable. Andersen told NBC 7 it would be the largest single grouping of affordable housing in the state's history.

In terms of funding, Andersen said it will be a combination of private investments, and both federal and state dollars.

"This is not going to cost the taxpayers of the county anything. This is going to be just like any other affordable housing project. And we really want to see San Diego not only get their fair share, but their fair share and then some of the affordable housing dollars to take care of the people of San Diego,” said Andersen.

Between 40 and 50 people attended Thursday's workshop, asked questions and voiced concerns after the team’s presentation. Several people asked about parking for the proposed arena and residential units. Andersen said it’s too early to know exactly how many spots will be created because it depends on the number of bedrooms and other details that have not been decided. He did confirm the parking lot would be part of the residential building, likely underneath it.

One woman asked about the access and connectivity for cyclists.

“I live within a mile of the project and it's quite dangerous to get there. And so have you thought about the accessibility to the north side is my first question?” she asked.

One person asked about the future of existing tenants in the area like Soma, the concert venue and long-time Kobey’s Swap Meet.

“To some people it’s a parking lot. To me it’s always been the place I can go and hunt for anything I wanted,” a man in his 20s said about the swap meet.

Legends’ representative Shelby Jordan answered that the team had been in contact with the swap meet group.

“We are cognizant that there are some things that are near and dear to San Diegans' hearts that we need to be respectful of as we proceed with the project,” said Jordan.

In an already congested area, the development team plans to build a new mobility hub to try and mitigate any traffic problems. Several people asked about traffic impacts and incomplete infrastructure. The Midway Rising team said it plans to commission a study to figure out solutions along with the city and transportation agencies.

Another topic of discussion and concern was groundwater intrusion that seems to be a growing problem in the area. Rising sea levels contribute to the issue, as well. The development partners said they will lean on the best engineers around and thanked a community member for her suggestion they reach out and collaborate with researchers at Scripps.

Overall, the developers say their project will bring $7 billion of economic benefits to San Diego.

Andersen said they are still in the first six months of the process, where they study the site and its soil conditions. Over the next two years, the city and the Midway Rising team will be negotiating terms and contracts as they navigate permits and, eventually, an environmental impact report.

The city ultimately decides if it will offer a long-term lease to the partners. The hope is to break ground in 2025.