SAN DIEGO — The "Seaport San Diego” project with a $3.5 billion price tag would redevelop 105 acres of land and water of the current Seaport Village area with 2.7 million square feet of mixed-use development. New drone renderings show an conic tower, urban beach, restaurant on the pier, an event center and a concert hall.
"We have extensive family who visit here. and this is one of the top three places, everybody has to go to Seaport Village,” said Laguna Niguel resident Gary Wright visiting with his wife Lois and their two grandsons.
The Wright family and some other Seaport Village tourists say they like the current setup of Seaport Village the way it’s been since 1980.
"There's a lot of history here, and you can't get that, if they take this away,” Wright said.
Some of the local businesses said they felt blindsided and left out of the new plans.
"They've never come here to ask me anything,” said Pooran Namirian, employee at Island Fashion for ten years, which sells sweatshirts, souvenirs and shoes.
Namirian says the proposal to build a hotel spread across seven properties with over 2,000 rooms could wipe out her store and many other shops.
"We want customers, we don't want hotel, are already a lot of hotels,” Namirian said.
1HWY1 is the developer of the Seaport San Diego proposal. It has not been approved by the Board of Port Commissioners and will require California Coastal Commission approval, before it can proceed.
A statement from Yehudi “Gaf” Gaffen, CEO of 1HWY1, reads in part:
"We are honored to be the Port of San Diego's selected developer for this site. This week, we presented the Port with our revised proposal, which is based on input from public agencies, stakeholders and market analysis. We are committed to making this an inclusive destination accessible to people of all backgrounds and income levels."
The Port of San Diego has received over 300 letters supporting the proposed project, including from San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chair Nathan Fletcher, Vice Chair Nora Vargas, and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria.
Namirian says she loves working at her Seaport Village shop and hopes she will be able to in the future.
Developer 1HWY1 says it will be working closely with the Board of Port Commissioners to determine the next steps with getting feedback and making revisions. It plans to return the updates to the board later this year.
WATCH RELATED: Seaport Village: Revitalized with plans to grow in San Diego (Jan. 2022).