By Steve Scott
Every year, magazines come out with lists ranking cities — “Best Towns for Tech,” “Healthiest U.S. Cities,” “Best Places to Start a Business.” I’ve always found it remarkable that San Diego could be left off lists of the most livable cities. If San Diego isn’t at the top of every “livable” list, what could possibly define livability?
Increasingly, the answer has to do with the ability to get around without a car, to shop and dine locally, to get to know your neighbor and have chance encounters with them on the street.
San Diego began embracing this new definition when our leaders charted a course for our city’s future that turns away from the auto-centric suburban sprawl model, recognizing we’ve already grown outward to the edges of the map.
To accommodate anticipated population growth driven mainly by our San Diego-born children and grandchildren, we have to think differently.
Carmel Valley has the opportunity to be one of the first San Diego neighborhoods to embrace this new planning direction with One Paseo, a proposed mixed-use project with homes, shops and offices forming a Main Street-style town center.
Carmel Valley is perfectly suited for this type of project. Master planned in the 1970s, the neighborhood once known as “North City West” laid out homes, offices and shops in separate areas. Planners designated retail to serve each of the residential areas, but many of these neighborhood services were never built. As a result, residents and workers must drive everywhere — and leave Carmel Valley altogether to shop for all but the most basic needs.
When Kilroy Realty purchased the 23.6-acre vacant property located at the corner of Del Mar Heights Road and El Camino Real, less than a mile from the company’s San Diego headquarters, we had intended to build what was entitled for the parcel — commercial office space. But community members challenged us to do more with the neighborhood’s last piece of undeveloped property.
Instead of a few office towers, residents wanted amenities they could enjoy — places to shop, dine or simply stroll and come together with their neighbors and enjoy their community. They wanted a true town center.
After years of refining the project based on community input, One Paseo is now going through the final stages of approval. The project provides a true Main Street atmosphere, with shops, offices and residences set among vibrant public plazas and open space. Landscaped pedestrian paths, trails, bike lanes and park areas link the project to the surrounding community and provide opportunities for neighbors to interact socially and forge community connections.
Standing alone, One Paseo has much to recommend it, but in addition to the immediate benefits it provides directly to Carmel Valley residents, the project also has enormous economic benefits for the entire city, adding an estimated $630 million in total economic activity for our region and nearly 1,600 permanent jobs. And with plans for 604 residential units, One Paseo will help fulfill a housing shortage in the northern part of the city. These units will be perfect for the large number of Carmel Valley residents whose children have left home and who no longer want to keep up their large family homes, but who want to remain in the community.
Of course, an investment of this magnitude is not without concerns, and Kilroy has been mindful of One Paseo’s potential impacts. The primary concern was traffic, and Kilroy stepped up to the plate with nearly $10 million in private investment to alleviate congestion and help keep cars moving. In addition to $6 million for roadway improvements, the company is spending nearly $4 million more for a state-of-the-art traffic signal-coordination system to be installed at 40 intersections in Carmel Valley.
Trials of this high-tech system in Carlsbad and along Lusk Road in San Diego have proven that, when deployed correctly, the technology can greatly improve travel times along roadways and make commutes less frustrating, with fewer unnecessary stops and far less time sitting idle at red lights.
We’re looking forward to seeing the city live out one of the first of its planned “villages” in One Paseo, which will not only improve the overall quality of life for Carmel Valley, but promote healthier day-to-day living in San Diego according to our new vision for growth.
Steve Scott is senior vice president of Kilroy Realty and works in the company’s San Diego headquarters, in Carmel Valley.
