SAN DIEGO — The United States Navy recently announced steps it will take in the re-development of its Old Town Campus at Naval Base Point Loma. The announcement of the Navy’s intentions came Friday, one day after San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and the San Diego Association of Governments signed an exclusive agreement with acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly to take the next step in redeveloping the Old Town Campus into a massive transit hub. The Navy said among its next steps are plans to prepare an environmental impact statement for which will take 30 days and will include two public meetings.
The EIS will evaluate the potential environmental effects of the revitalization of the naval base’s Old Town Campus. The Navy is proposing demolition of the existing facilities and construction of new buildings, utilities, and infrastructure at the Old Town Campus.
“Specific proposed actions could include Navy recapitalization of the site or redevelopment through a public-private partnership, including the consideration of a potential transit center,” the Navy said in part.
The Navy and SANDAG have previously discussed what a development at the site - commonly known as NAVWAR - would look like. A central terminus for buses and trains would be the keystone, but a people-mover or shuttle to the airport would also likely be part of the plan.
The 70.5-acre property Interstate 5-adjacent property is just blocks from the Old Town Transit Center, a centrally located spot that would connect San Diego International Airport with the rest of the county's transit infrastructure. In exchange for redeveloping a portion of the land into a transit hub, the county would build new facilities to house the thousands of Naval cybersecurity experts and contractors -- including the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command -- currently on site.
NAVWAR consists largely of outdated World War Two-era airplane hangars. The Navy and SANDAG signed a memorandum of understanding in September 2019 to discuss and collaboratively draft a development plan. SANDAG's board then approved $50 million in initial site-planning funds to be spent over the next five years.
The project still has a long road ahead of it, and in addition to environmental reviews, would need city, state and federal approval. The total cost is estimated at between $3.8 and $4.7 billion.
The Navy’s 30-day “public scoping period” began Friday, Jan. 24 and the service branch is looking to identify community interests and resources for analysis in its environmental impact statement.
The Navy will hold public scoping meetings on Thursday, Feb. 13 and Wednesday, Feb. 19 from 4 – 7 p.m. at the Liberty Station Conference Center for those interested in submitting written comments on issues to be analyzed in the EIS. It is also accepting written comments postmarked by Feb. 24 to the address below:
Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest
Navy OTC Revitalization EIS Project Manager
Attention: Ron Bochenek
1220 Pacific Highway (Code: EV21.RB)
San Diego, CA 92132-5101
Written comments can also be submitted online here.
The Navy said additional opportunities for the public to be involved will come after its draft EIS is published which is expected to occur in the summer.
