SAN DIEGO — The North County Transit District is working to address San Diego’s housing crisis and get more people to use public transportation. The agency plans to redevelop land around its transit stations for housing and commercial projects.
The goal of the project is to create more housing and increase ridership by building offices and shops at the transit stations.
There are plans to redevelop four transit stations including:
- Carlsbad Poinsettia and Carlsbad Village Coaster Stations
- Oceanside Transit Center
- Escondido Transit Center
"For us there have been projects throughout San Diego, downtown San Diego but in North County these will be the first major projects of that nature," said Chris Orlando, the chief planning and communications officer of NCTD.
Orlando said the projects could create up to 2,000 housing units in North County many of which will be affordable units. The station in Oceanside will get 500 housing units and a hotel.
A grant is being used to figure out how to best use the land around the station in Escondido.
"From our perspective this is an opportunity for us to do something to activate our transit stations but brings valuable things in the community in terms of more housing, vibrant mixed use and we think some world class public spaces," he said.
None of the projects have broken ground. The Oceanside Transit Center is the furthest along in the process, but will take a couple of years to complete.
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