Downtown’s East Village is getting ready to grow up soon. City Council approved the sale of city-owned Tailgate Park to a development group led by the San Diego Padres for $35.1 million, making space for the East Village Quarter project — a $1.5 billion development that’ll modify our city’s skyline.
The 5.25-acre area — east of Petco Park — is encompassed by Park Boulevard, Imperial Avenue, and 14th + K streets. If you’ve been there, you were probably tailgating before a game, but this project will skyrocket the space’s potential with homes, shopping, and a public park.
A look at the new East Village project. | Slide via San Diego City Council
🏗️ What will be added?
With the sale of Tailgate Park, Mayor Todd Gloria tweeted his excitement for the project’s potential. It will make the East Village an entirely different space, packing a whole lot into its four blocks with multiple buildings that could reach 500-ft in height. This includes changes to an earlier proposal, becoming more focused on residential space.We’ll see:
- 1,800 new residential units — with a total of 270 units reserved for low + middle income San Diegans
- 2 acres of open space, including a 1.3-acre public park
- 50,000-sqft of retail + office space
Anyone who’s parked at Tailgate Park over the years is likely wondering — what’s happening to the parking spaces? Petco Park’s Environmental Impact Report requires the existing 1,060 spaces be preserved. The project includes an event parking garage that ups the number to 1,200 spaces.
East Village, growing in phases. | Slide via San Diego City Council
🗓️ When will this happen?
Construction isn’t expected to begin until 2024 at the earliest, with phase one being completed in 2027 + phase two slated for 2027-2030.
Phase one will include half of the housing, the Padres parking garage, and 25,000-sqft of non-residential space like offices + retail. Phase two will complete the other halves of the housing and non-residential space and add the public park.
