SDSU Builds Bay Area Inspired Campus Community
San Diego State University is taking a giant leap towards creating a one-stop campus downtown area with the new South Campus Plaza, currently in construction at the corner of College Avenue and Montezuma Road. With housing for 600-800 students and 35,000 square feet of retail space—including several restaurants and a Trader Joe’s—the idea is to make South Campus Plaza a pedestrian friendly community center for students and local residents alike.
In an interview with KPBS, Jose Reynoso, chair of the College Area Community Planning Board, said he wants the new complex to be “a destination with an attractive campus-town ambience,” similar to the UC Berkeley campus in the San Francisco Bay Area.
“The point is to build a kind of town-gown campus community that doesn’t exist anymore … or has never existed within walking distance,” said Bob Schultz, SDSU’s chief architect, to KPBS.
South Campus Plaza is expected to be completed in the fall of 2016.
Liberty Station Gets a Revamp
Foodies and kitchen connoisseurs, get stoked! Offering everything from gourmet cheese and local meat to freshly baked bread and a craft beer bottle shop, Liberty Public Market is a 22,000 square-foot artisan food market, slated to open its doors at Liberty Station in November.
Liberty Station is also announcing a number of additional changes in the works, in an attempt to brand itself as San Diego’s hottest ‘hood. Nearly a dozen new businesses are opening in the area in the next few months, including Italian food favorite Buona Forchetta, luxury cinema concept THE LOT, and a number of outdoor community spaces focused on art, games and family friendly activities.
Now Open: “Rethink Downtown: Behind Downtown’s Skyline”
SDSU Gets a Downtown, and Downtown Gets a New Exhibit
Rethink Downtown: Behind Downtown’s Skyline
Rethink Downtown: Behind Downtown’s Skyline
For those interested in downtown San Diego of the past and present, a temporary new exhibit that opened last week explores the city center’s history, along with its plans for the future. “Rethink Downtown: Behind Downtown’s Skyline” is a free 3,000 square-foot multimedia installation, sponsored by Bosa Development. Though heavily focused on Bosa’s newest condo building in development, the exhibit also offers an interactive view into the evolution of San Diego over the past 256 years, and the city’s shift from suburban to urban.
Among the exhibition’s highlights are a detailed 63 square-foot model of downtown and a “Rethinker” suggestion wall where anyone can contribute their ideas for the future of the area.
Have a Robot Walk Your Kid to School in Valley Center
A new suburban development in North County’s Valley Center is offering robot technology as a selling point for its 1,700 home Lilac Ranch project, according to Voice of San Diego. Developer Accretive Investments is partnering with Carlsbad-based 5D Robotics to provide residents with a network of robots to help carry home groceries or walk children to school.
“It’s like a bike share program but where you don’t have to pedal and where the bike comes to you,” stated David Bruemmer, CEO and cofounder of 5D Robotics, in a letter to the San Diego Planning Commission. Welcome to the future!
Send Us Your Design Ideas
Don’t miss our design-themed December issue, on newsstands December 1. We’ll take you inside one of the city’s most anticipated new residences, and share some of our favorite home design stories from the past year. Other design ideas? Send them to Kimberly Cunningham.
SDSU Gets a Downtown, and Downtown Gets a New Exhibit
Liberty Public Market | Rendering by FITCH
