The Costa Verde Center redevelopment plan in University City is moving forward. On Oct. 13, the University Community Planning Group will receive an update on the massive project.
Located across from the Westfield UTC mall and at the transit center of the UC San Diego Blue Line, the Costa Verde strip mall, built in 1989, stood vacant and abandoned for years. Since its closure, two plans to redevelop the property have failed.
In January 2025, San Diego-based Cass Street Venture LLC purchased the 12.6-acre property along with its partner Global Mutual, a London-based real estate investment firm. The vision: create a European-style, walkable, mixed-use neighborhood called “High Street Village.”
Since then, Cass Street Co-Presidents and Developers Luke Daniels and Michael Yanicelli met with community representatives, secured a change in land-use restrictions, and approved their final map for their 13-block plan. Demolition started, and construction is set to begin in 2028.
“High Street will connect to a central piazza near the trolley, with approximately 100,000 square feet of contemplated neighborhood-serving retail, including cafés, a grocer and shops residents and neighbors can reach on foot,” said Daniels in an email to Times of San Diego. “The final number of affordable homes and parking spaces will be determined as the project advances.”
Chair of University Community Planning Group Chris Nielsen looks forward to receiving Cass Street’s update later this month to confirm details. He said transit, retail and housing are priorities for the community and he believes this redevelopment project brings about much-needed change.
“This is the first plan we have seen in quite a while that really does take advantage of the area and adjacency to transit,” Nielsen said. “…This is the first one that’s actually providing housing as part of its development.”
Nielsen said that the planning group supported High Street because it aligned with local density plans. He said residents especially liked the grocery and pharmacy stores included in the project and seek to know more about affordable housing and traffic plans.
According to Nielsen, High Street addresses many resident concerns related to parking, stormwater infrastructure and traffic. The developer, said Nielsen, even took community input in the design of the landscaping.
“They will have native plantings throughout the site, not palm trees that dump seeds into the canyon and create an environmental mess,” Nielsen said. “It’s this sort of attention to community concern that ends up making a big difference.”
The planning group will not be making any decisions on Oct. 13 since the meeting is purely informational, but they will ensure that the project still adheres to the community plan and that residents feel represented.
“The main takeaway here is that this development is radically different than the prior two that were put on the table, which were attempts to tweak the current model and not necessarily come up with a paradigm that is actually better,” planning chair Nielsen said.
