Work officially began Wednesday on the once-controversial One Paseo project in Carmel Valley, the largest mixed-use development in North County.
Developer Kilroy Realty, which began clearing the vacant, 23-acre site in late December, held a formal groundbreaking ceremony attended by community, business and political leaders.
Plans call for 608 apartments, 95,000 square feet of specialty retail space and 280,000 square feet of office space. Parts of the development will open as early as 2018, and full completion is expected in 2020.
Mayor Kevin Faulconer applauded the project for including a large number of new apartments, noting that in his State of the City speech earlier this month he called for more housing to be built. He said the $600 million to be invested and 900 permanent jobs created will also be important for San Diego.
“That’s growing our tax base; that’s growing our economy,” he said. “I think there’s rightfully a lot of excitement about today.”
Nelson Ackerly, Kilroy’s senior vice president for the San Diego region, said the community raised numerous issues but ultimately “channeled those concerns into constructive feedback.”
The City Council approved the original, much larger project in early 2015, but the approval was overturned after opponents collected 60,000 petition signatures. Council members subsequently urged Kilroy and opponents to reach a compromise. A downsized plan was approved by the council in June.
Ackerly said One Paseo would set a new standard for mixed-use development in San Diego. “From the minute you arrive at One Paseo, everything is going to feel easy,” he said.
