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What's going on with the old Serra Mesa library property?

The city owns the land and had plans for dozens of low-income housing units, but those plans have stalled.

SAN DIEGO — The Serra Mesa library on Sandrock Road and Hurlbut Street in San Diego closed in 2006 and the building is still sitting there empty. 

The property was supposed to be redeveloped, but that work hasn't started. Now the area is an eyesore with trash in the parking lot, a broken fence and rotting wood. What was once a popular library is now telling a sad story.

“It's not the most appealing thing to look at,” said neighbor David Arredondo. “We walk by it a lot and just kind of wonder what happened to it.” 

Neighbors say the property isn't just an eyesore - it's also attracting a crowd.  

“Seen homeless people there a lot, just hanging out,” said Kelly Ann Barcelos. “The police are there, trying to get them out of there.

The library closed because a new one opened about a mile away. In 2020, the city announced that a local non-profit would develop the site at Sandrock Road and Hurlbut Street into 26 units for chronically homeless youth and young adults. Kevin Faulconer, who was mayor at the time, praised the plan. 

“The right zoning, close to transportation corridors, really have the opportunity to quickly build the housing that we need,” he said.

When the housing project was first announced, the city gave a target opening date of August 2023. We are now three months past that date and not only is a new building not open, but the old building is still there. CBS 8 confirmed the city still owns the property, but it seems we are no closer to starting a project here than we were three years ago when it was first announced.

A city spokesperson sent a statement to CBS 8: 

"The City selected a proposal from Community Housing Works for the property and negotiated the disposition, which is the action of transferring the property rights to them. The item was docketed for the Nov. 16 Land Use and Housing Committee meeting, but with the recent consolidation of the City's Economic Development Department and the Department of Real Estate and Airport Management, staff requested the item be returned to them for further analysis and will come forward at a future date."

The property that's been sitting empty for 17 years, at least for now, will continue to stay that way, much to the chagrin on neighbors who would prefer something positive for their community. 

“I mean I think it'd be really cool to build another library there,” David added. “It brings a lot of community together. More appealing than what it looks like now, but anything is better than it looks right now.”

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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