London has one. Orlando is getting one.
San Diego could be next on the list for a city with a giant Ferris wheel.
Three developers will be meeting with the San Diego Unified Port District in the next few weeks to pitch their ideas and renderings for a giant Ferris wheel in the parking lot just south of the USS Midway Museum.
The Port of San Diego says they weren’t asking for ideas. Instead, people started to randomly send in submissions over the past year all with a common trend: a giant Ferris wheel. The Port decided they would look into it and look into the ideas.
One of the proposals comes from two real estate developers, Charles Black and David Malmuth. Their concept is a giant Ferris wheel that takes people 450 feet above the city to see panoramic views of San Diego. Next to the Ferris wheel will be a 30,000 square foot pavilion showcasing San Diego’s history.
“I believe San Diego’s waterfront can be one of the truly great waterfronts in the world but we aren’t there," said David Malmuth, developer for Ferris wheel concept. "In order to achieve that, we need to take action, big bold initiatives. Not just talk, not just plans but actions."
Another Ferris wheel concept being presented to the Port of San Diego was developed by Bussink Design and Chance American Wheels. It will stand 250 feet tall with the ability to hold more than 430 people on board. The gondolas will have sound systems with MP3 players to listen to music along the ride.
Local
The third developer is from Allegis Development. They are the same group representing the current construction of the Orlando Eye scheduled to open in April of this year.
The Port of San Diego will meet with these three developers on February 10th. The Board will listen to the proposals and then decide whether they are interested in the concept or not.
David Malmuth, one of the developers, believes if the Port does agree to a Ferris wheel we could see it along the Embarcadero by 2020.
