SAN DIEGO — Since our coverage aired of an abandoned McDonald’s building in Ramona, many of you have reached out to CBS 8 about eyesores in your community.
CBS 8 is Working For You to find out what’s being done to clean up an old sports bar in the Midway District that has become a magnet for illegal activity.
“It’s almost turned into like almost a homeless shelter that’s not being regulated as much as it should be, like people camping outside,” said an employee of a nearby guitar shop.
Graffiti, trash, and debris plague the property at 3225 Midway Dr, formerly the site of Kristy’s MVP Sports Bar, now a blighted mess.
“It’s definitely stressful, I made a number of complaints,” said Jay Culbertson, who lives next door and regularly reports homeless encampments on the property.
“Behaving in a destructive manner, breaking into the structure, having lots of late-night fun, and disrupting my rest before me and my neighbors could go to work the next day,” said Culbertson.
Kristy’s MVP Sports Bar closed its doors for good in 2017, and since then, the only new tenants have been uninvited squatters.
“A number of people were living underneath that awning there,” said Culbertson. “They would cut through the fencing as you can see, it’s been repaired and then they would cut through it again.”
With unhoused folks gathering in and around the property, the guitar shop next door has trouble clearing out its parking lot in the morning. CBS 8 talked with one of the employees.
“I hope it turns into something nice, that way it’s not just an eyesore on the corner of the street, you know,” said the employee.
The San Diego County Assessor’s Office told CBS 8 the property is owned by Stieglitz-FLM Enterprises Partnership with an address based in Beverly Hills. CBS 8 found a number of complaints on record dating back to 2018 regarding trash and graffiti.
A torn-up sign on the front of the building displays contact information for Urban California Real Estate Services. CBS 8 reached out to them, asking what’s being done to clean up the property, and haven’t heard back.
“It’s unfortunate because Midway has some problems and this doesn’t encourage the neighborhood to move forward. It encourages it to go back the other way,” said Culbertson. “I would like to see a tenant in here occupying it, making use of the property and securing it, ultimately that’s what I’m most concerned about is the security of the property.”
At CBS 8, we are always Working for You and our community. This is a station promise that we will go the extra mile to solve a problem our audience can’t solve themselves. We want to hear your ideas on how we can cover and help our community. If you have a story idea, please email us at workingforyou@cbs8.com.
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