Housing costs and homelessness. Ask any San Diegan to share what the single most important issue is facing our region today and you’ll likely hear either one or both answers. It’s no surprise that these issues are closely linked — in 2023, the number of newly homeless continued to outpace the number of people housed each month.
To put it plainly, many families and seniors across the city are struggling to keep up with increasing rents or find homes they can afford, leading to displacement, evictions and, oftentimes, homelessness. We recognize these are complex challenges that lack easy fixes, but through bold action paired with innovative solutions, we can help flip the script and reverse this staggering trend.
Building more housing is more important now than ever. And no other housing project today compares to Midway Rising.
In 2022, the city of San Diego selected Midway Rising as the development team to reimagine the San Diego Sports Arena property. This selection earned the support of San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and California’s Department of Housing and Community Development based on one specific reason — Midway Rising championed the boldest vision for affordable housing, a total of 2,000 affordable homes, which was a greater amount than any other competing redevelopment team.
Going one step further, this commitment solidifies Midway Rising’s status as the largest affordable housing project in California’s history. And its impact cannot be understated. These 2,000 affordable homes will be made available for all San Diegans, including working families, seniors, veterans and unsheltered individuals.
Now, for anybody who has attended a concert or sporting event at the Sports Arena, you’ll be familiar with its existing layout and characteristics. A dated, concrete arena surrounded by a sea of asphalt parking. Redeveloping the site to accommodate thousands of new affordable homes where none exist today is a tall order, but it is one the city, the county of San Diego and Midway Rising are dedicated to tackling together.
On March 11, San Diego City Council unanimously approved taking the first step in forming what is referred to as an Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District, or EIFD, at the Sports Arena property. And on Wednesday, at the urging of Vice Chair Terra Lawson-Remer on this urgent affordable homebuilding crisis, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to collaboratively participate with the city’s Department of Economic Development and Department of Finance in its EIFD exploration process.
Taking the place of redevelopment agencies that were dissolved more than a decade ago, EIFDs are innovative financing mechanisms that can be used to invest in a broad range of public facilities or large-scale economic development projects with region-wide benefits, all without increasing costs to taxpayers by a single cent.
To put it simply, an EIFD at the Sports Arena is the key to unlocking the site’s full potential and meaningfully addressing our region’s dire shortage of affordable homes. But how does an EIFD work exactly? And how would one function at the Sports Arena site?
EIFDs work by reserving future property tax growth within a defined geographical boundary and can fund a variety of infrastructure projects in areas such as transportation, parks and open space, transit facilities, climate adaptation and most importantly, affordable housing.
Now, with the county’s added support, a joint city and county EIFD would allow for an even greater percentage of future property tax dollar growth to be captured from the site’s redevelopment, and reinvested upfront to immediately address longstanding infrastructure deficiencies both on-site, and potentially in other adjacent areas within the Midway District.
With buy-in from San Diego’s regional elected officials, a joint EIFD will deliver on two key promises:
- Achieving 20% of the county and city’s shared goal and commitment to constructing 10,000 new affordable homes on government land by 2030 through a single project.
- Improving key infrastructure for the longstanding, underserved Midway community.
For the Midway Rising project, an EIFD ensures that 2,000 affordable homes for working San Diegans will be built, radically increasing the supply of affordable homes in the San Diego region and making a tangible impact in the lives of everyday San Diegans, including our most vulnerable population of seniors, veterans and unsheltered individuals.
And it doesn’t stop there. The significance of the Midway Rising project extends beyond housing and presents a golden opportunity to generate thousands of new temporary and permanent jobs for construction and hospitality workers in our city.
Our region’s labor unions have long been champions of economic justice, advocating for fairer wages, safer working conditions and job opportunities for all. Midway Rising’s commitment to labor and providing high-quality, good-paying jobs for working San Diego families is unparalleled and ensures the project will be union built and union operated.
Midway Rising represents a bold step in the right direction — a testament to what we can achieve when we come together as a community to tackle our most pressing challenges. The project is the primary driver toward reimagining the entire Midway District into a more inclusive neighborhood where residents of all income levels can live and thrive.
As the number of homeless continues to outpace the number of people housed each month, we can and will stem the tide. Wednesday’s bold action by our elected leaders will help us build affordable homes for those most in need. We urge all San Diegans to support the formation of an EIFD at the Sports Arena site, and together, we can build a brighter future for San Diego and make California housing history!
Paul Downey is CEO of Serving Seniors, a San Diego-based nonprofit that helps seniors in poverty live healthy and fulfilling lives. Deacon Jim Vargas is the president and CEO of Father Joe’s Villages, San Diego’s largest homeless services provider, and is a deacon of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego serving the community of Mary, Star of the Sea in La Jolla. Both are partnering with Chelsea Investment Corporation, the affordable home developer for Midway Rising.