Downtown divorce court will be torn down to make way for mix of shops and homes
Downtown divorce court will be torn down to
make way for mix of shops and homes
San Diego Union Tribune
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Months after the family court
building on Sixth Avenue was vacated in favor of the new state courthouse on
nearby Union Street in downtown San Diego, county supervisors voted Tuesday
to demolish the three-story complex so it can make way for affordable
housing.
The unanimous vote by the Board of
Supervisors will allow the county to proceed with plans to offer the property
to a development company that is expected to build a mixed-use project. The
new project is expected to include up to 185 new housing units and 50,000
square feet of commercial space.
“This has become a surplus
property,” Supervisor Ron Roberts said just before the vote. “I’m
enthusiastic about this going ahead. In the long run, it will save us time
and probably money by getting the property cleared off.”
The existing 21,000-square-foot
building covers about one-half of the city block on the east side of Sixth
Avenue between Beech and Cedar streets.
Because of the proposed building’s
proximity to Lindbergh Field, the new development would be limited to 172
feet in height, according to an environmental analysis performed on behalf of
the county. Most of the impacts related to the development — such as traffic
and greenhouses gasses — were deemed mitigated or non-significant, the
88-page report concluded.
Under the recommendation approved
Tuesday, the county agreed to advertise and award a demolition contract worth
up to $2.5 million. The county already has begun plans to authorize a
competitive bidding process to choose a developer to construct the high-rise
project.
The county is expected to recover
its demolition costs through the development process.
The winning builder would
construct up to 185 apartments or condominiums and up to 50,000 square feet
of retail space on the lower floors. At least half of the housing units are
expected to be dedicated as affordable to special-needs and vulnerable populations.
Under the current plan, the county
would likely retain the property but approve a long-term lease to the
selected developer.
Family court handles divorce,
custody and other domestic issues. The court complex closed late last year
when its operations were moved into the new state courthouse complex at the
intersection of Union and West C streets. That $555-million project opened in
December, after various delays that pushed back the opening for nearly a
year.
-Jeff McDonald
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