Notes from the October 2018 Economic Development Committee Meeting
(takes place the third Wednesday of each month at 11 a.m.)
Blvd 20/20
The Boulevard is seeking input from the community to create a vision for the future. What’s your vision for the future of El Cajon Boulevard for 2020 and beyond? The second town hall meeting will take place Nov. 17.
PopUp15
The City Heights CDC has purchased the PopUp15 lot (at ECB and Central Ave across from the Rock Church and adjacent to I-15). The planned cul-de-sac SANDAG is doing will take up 1/3 of the lot. Already small, the lot may not be suitable for a residential component as previously thought. It’s currently zoned for 29 unites per acre, which would only lend around 7-9 units at its size.
Little Saigon
LISC has funded market studies around the City Heights and El Cajon Boulevard area. They want to focus on development in the Little Saigon area. LISC has now secured $200k in grant funding from Bank of America for planning efforts for this strategic redevelopment and revitalization plan.
Fair@44 Programming
Fair@44 celebrated 2 years of community and business activation in October. They now have 3 anchor tenants, including the Dojo Cafe. The Dojo Cafe has done a great job putting on events for the community. Keep up with what’s going on at Fair@44 here.
Fair@44 Long-Term Development
In my last update from February 2018, I announced Price Charities had scrapped their “civic moment” plan for this development. Now, they are back on their original plan to include the “civic moment” portion of the project. They are still finalizing partnerships and plans, but these might include partnerships with UCSD for a high-tech library.
Original, and now current, plans include:
• A civic use space in the front portion of the lot adjacent to El Cajon Boulevard. The footprint of the building nearly half what it could be in favor of park-like space surrounding the building.
• An open lot space separating the front development from the back that could be used as a marketplace, much like fair@44 has been piloting.
• The back/north side development a mix of senior housing and general residential – both affordable and market rate. 195 2-3 bedroom units on floors 2-6, with first floor available for commercial space.
See notes from Price Charities’ presentation to the KTPG in February 2017 here.