IQHQ The third and most impressive project is IQHQ’s Research and Development District (RaDD), a property on San Diego’s iconic waterfront, planned for completion in 2023. The developers’ vision is to attract biotech or pharmaceutical companies to a prime downtown location that spans three city blocks along the picturesque San Diego Bay. Its website notes that the campus “…will consist of mid-rise structures and a 17-story tower, including rooftop decks and green space.” RaDD will offer exceptional views of the bay and access to dining, shopping and music events in nearby Seaport Village. There will be easy access to the popular USS Midway and walking and biking paths along the Embarcadero. Perhaps more than any other single project in the city core, the $1.5 billion RaDD aims to distinguish downtown San Diego as a key biotech cluster. With IQHQ as its primary developer, the project covers more than eight acres on the waterfront and is expected to total 1.7 million square feet of lab, office and retail space. The entire project will include 150,000 square feet of on-site amenities, including ground-floor shops, restaurants, rooftop decks and a public paseo that travels the length of the property. Ripple effect Bibler says the completion timelines for this trio of massive projects are largely on schedule. “Genesis, for the most part, will be opening
designed to date, with strategically engineered laboratories and highly designed office space.” Slated for completion later this year, the structure includes over a million square feet, spread among eight stories of Class A LEED Gold life sciences space. The Genesis project’s website says that it “will provide an environment for fundamental innovation and creation.” The Campus at Horton The Campus at Horton’s website is emblazoned with three stark statistics: “7 city blocks. 10 acres. Over a million square feet.” Those clipped stats form the basis for what is shaping up to become one of the most significant projects in Horton Plaza’s long history as a city hub.
city and the regions in order to deliver. I’m happy to say that they are performing.” Bibler says that she agrees with the theory that these projects will beget even further innovative growth. “At the end of the day, having all of this office and lab development coming to downtown is helping to spur other projects,” she notes. One of them in particular is a brand-new, $1.5 billion dollar project called Tailgate Park that’s being developed in conjunction with the San Diego Padres. “It will produce 1,800 housing units, 50,000 square feet and a parking garage, among other amenities,” she says. “The point is the opportunity that these current large projects produce for the greater downtown; there definitely is a ripple effect.” Infrastructure is key One critical factor in the success of these projects is the degree to which city infrastructure can ultimately support them. “What it means is that we need to put forward conveniences like our central transportation hub,” says Bibler. “There’s an active conversation about that going on downtown that involves the city, the county, the state and our federal government. That’s because making these [infrastructural] enhancements is a multi-billion-dollar effort. Add to that the expansion
of our airport, which is another project that’s been underway for many years, but is finally under construction.” Bibler stresses the importance of the partnership the city, county and region has formed with the real- estate developers. “One really vital aspect of how the city is working with these private partners to optimize plans for these downtown spaces is how it will help ensure their convenience, attractiveness and the public’s access to them,” she notes. “For example, we just did a park agreement with the IQHQ team. There’s a public space that people need to be able to enjoy in order for these projects to be successful. And that includes a place for these new businesses’ employees to use, as well.” Bibler says she hopes the key takeaway is the city’s investment into prioritizing infrastructure, and the movement that the private sector has made to ensure that this downtown urban hub is really a resurgence of opportunity and vitality. “These projects are essentially laying the groundwork to move San Diego from what otherwise would have been a minor market into this international market that we truly are,” she says.
In 2017, the spacious complex was sold to Stockdale Capital Partners, which proposed a major
overhaul of the five-level former shopping mall, converting it into an innovative, sophisticated campus fully outfitted for life science/biotech research and application. One of the key focal points of the Horton Campus
IQHQ’s Research and Development District will span three city blocks along San Diego Bay, and offer such amenities as shopping, restaurants and rooftop decks.
imminently,” she says. “The Campus at Horton is still under construction, with delivery of the project slated for later this year or early next. And IQHQ, which is a behemoth of a project, is being actively marketed [to the public and potential tenants] right now. “IQHQ, in my opinion, is leading the pack with five buildings and a million- and-a-half or more square footage,” Bibler adds. “This project is really setting the bar very high as it regards public-private partnership. There’s really nowhere else up and down the California coast with that kind of waterfront development that required working with the U.S. Navy, the
redesign is on environmental sustainability. Among other notable features, the campus is designed to meet a zero-carbon goal and, to that end, will offer cooling by a central on-campus plant, including 5-MW
With a focus on environmental sustainability, Campus at Horton is designed to
meet a zero- carbon goal.
photovoltaic and battery storage systems designed to cut energy costs. It will also offer an on-site commercial blackwater treatment system, which is projected to save more than half of the campus’s potable water use. Inside the campus, a 10-story, 300,000-square- foot life science tower will provide lab space for life science or office tenants.
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IN YOUR CORNER ISSUE 11 | 2022
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