SAN DIEGO — A plan to build a new arena and thousands of housing units in the Sports Arena area is getting mixed reviews. A few dozen people gathered at a community meeting Thursday to ask questions about the Midway Rising Project.
The project includes a 16,000-seat arena, thousands of new apartments, and a public plaza with space for retail stores.
"I think the property has a lot of potential," said Crystal Crawford, who lives in Clairemont.
Crawford came to the meeting to learn more about the project.
"What are the plans for connecting this redevelopment project with transit, with the old town station, and making it easy and safe for people to bike and walk," she asked.
The 30-foot coastal height limit was lifted when Measure C passed in November, which not everyone is excited about.
"Many Mission Hills area property owners complain about increased height. In addition, many people have complaints about traffic in the area," said Daniel Nierman, who lives in Mission Valley.
The project will create 4,000 new apartments, and affordable housing will account for about half of those. Chelsea Investment Corporation says 2,000 of the units will be affordable housing making it the largest single affordable housing project in the history of California.
People welcomed the idea of affordable housing, but thousands of new apartments raised concerns over parking and traffic congestion. The Midway Rising Team said the apartments would likely have parking within the buildings, and a consulting team is assessing the traffic issues.
The city council must still approve the final Midway Rising plan, which will go before the council next year.
If approved, construction is expected to begin in 2025 and take up to 10 years to finish. The initial focus will be to build the new arena and first phases of affordable housing.
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