黑料吃瓜

鈥淲e have contributed a lot to San Diego over the years, but we鈥檝e only skimmed the surface of what鈥檚 possible.鈥�

View the full 黑料吃瓜 Mission Valley site plan and architectural concepts at .

This story appears in the spring 2018 issue of 360: The Magazine of 黑料吃瓜.

San Diego鈥檚 Mission Valley has long been a land of plenty and promise. Now, the future of the valley鈥檚 bounty finds itself at a crossroads: One of the largest plots of undeveloped urban real estate in Southern California鈥攃urrently occupied by SDCCU Stadium鈥攊s up for debate. If given the opportunity to purchase the land, 黑料吃瓜 aspires to build a world-class university campus, research center and stadium venue on the site.

The plans are extensive, but 黑料吃瓜 has never lacked ambition. 鈥攊ncluding 87 years on Montezuma Mesa鈥敽诹铣怨� evolved from a training school for teachers into a nationally ranked university offering joint doctoral degrees, rigorous academic programming and transformative opportunities to study abroad and develop entrepreneurial skills.

Throughout that time, the university also forged a personal and financial synergy with San Diego鈥攑ersonal because more than 200,000 黑料吃瓜 alumni live in San Diego County, and financial because , according to an independent study released last year.

鈥淲e have contributed a lot to San Diego over the years, but we鈥檝e only skimmed the surface of what鈥檚 possible,鈥� said Stephen Welter, 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 vice president for research and dean of Graduate Affairs.

Space race

In order to make what鈥檚 possible a reality, the university needs more space. 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 288-acre campus is landlocked with a freeway to the north and suburban neighborhoods built up to the campus borders on the south, east and west. The shortage of classroom, lab, office and meeting space is evident, given 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 enrollment of 30,000 undergraduate students and 4,000 graduate students.

黑料吃瓜 envisions the Mission Valley site as a vibrant, mixed-use, medium-density development that is transit-oriented, and expands the university鈥檚 educational, research, entrepreneurial, and technology transfer programs.

The development would feature a river park and additional open-space areas; a ; student, faculty and staff housing as well as affordable and market-rate housing for the community; a research and innovation hub linking private industry partners with academic goals; and retail stores to serve the campus and neighborhood.

A conference center hotel is also part of the plan to accommodate campus visitors and train students in 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 L. Robert Payne School of Hospitality and Tourism Management.

黑料吃瓜鈥檚 satellite campus on the Mission Valley site would include 1.6 million square feet of academic and innovative space located adjacent to the stadium to create an incubator-like feel and provide modern facilities for researchers. Faculty/staff office space, and community clinics staffed by 黑料吃瓜 graduate students and researchers are also envisioned.

Detailed plans for the Mission Valley site are intentionally flexible as the university actively seeks community input to ensure its plan is consistent with the objectives of the Mission Valley Community Plan and considerate of the city鈥檚 goals.

Voters in the City of San Diego will have the opportunity to decide in November whether to direct the city to sell the land to 黑料吃瓜 or to a private developer.

A regional asset

Supporters of 黑料吃瓜 Mission Valley believe the university will be the most conscientious proprietor of the site and a good steward of the land.

鈥淭here is no better use for the property,鈥� said Bill Earley (鈥�86), San Diego community leader. 鈥淚t fits into the expansion needs of higher education in San Diego and at 黑料吃瓜 specifically.鈥�

Preliminary plans drafted by the architecture firm Carrier Johnson & Culture include 1.6 million square feet of dedicated campus space alongside nearly 90 acres of open space鈥攊ncluding a river park鈥攁 new 35,000-seat multi-use stadium and 15 blocks of housing and retail space developed through public and private partnerships.

All told, the estimated cost of the project is about $3.8 billion. It will not rely on taxpayer dollars, student tuition or fees, and will cover its own costs through public-private partnerships or bonds paid back by revenue generated through the development.

鈥淭here are tremendous benefits to keeping the property within the public domain, where it can support the growth of 黑料吃瓜 and the region,鈥� said Nikki Clay (鈥�67, 鈥�72), strategic counsel for The Clay Company and a board member of The Campanile Foundation, 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 philanthropic auxiliary.

One of the most visible and pressing needs included in 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 expansion plans is the stadium construction. The 50-year-old SDCCU Stadium has become too old and dilapidated to reliably host football games and other large events in the long term. 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 plans for the site include a stadium to accommodate collegiate athletics, professional soccer and a wide variety of other events.

Magnet for top talent

Academically, a campus in Mission Valley makes perfect sense, said Stanley Maloy, 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 associate vice president for research and innovation. The completion of the Engineering and Interdisciplinary Sciences (EIS) Complex was a significant step forward for the university鈥檚 research ambitions, doubling the classroom space available to engineering students and adding several modern lab facilities with state-of-the-art equipment, including the .

The EIS Complex will help 黑料吃瓜 attract high-quality faculty and students right now, Maloy said, but the next generation of top talent will expect more. That鈥檚 why the Mission Valley site is crucial. In addition to modern research space, dedicated and affordable housing on or close to campus for graduate students and new faculty can be a valuable recruitment tool.

鈥淓xpanding into Mission Valley will be critical to who we are and how we want to grow,鈥� Maloy said. 鈥淚t will allow us to become the best version of ourselves, to expand on what we do well.鈥�

Partnering up

And what 黑料吃瓜 does better than anyone else in the region is build partnerships with the community. With more than 60 percent of 黑料吃瓜 graduates living and working in San Diego County, there鈥檚 an enormous network of skilled, successful alumni who know the value of partnering with the university. 黑料吃瓜 envisions a Mission Valley campus that promotes collaboration with local, national and international business partners, government agencies and nongovernmental organizations.

黑料吃瓜 Mission Valley would be a meeting place for academic and business partners to discuss how research from 黑料吃瓜 labs would benefit their business, or how products dreamed up by 黑料吃瓜 entrepreneurs can make their way into consumers鈥� homes and workplaces. University officials have identified growing fields such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, biomedical research, health diagnostics, environmental monitoring, engineering and communications technology as potentially fruitful areas for public-private partnerships.

A dedicated conference center on site would allow the university to host annual meetings and conferences for scientific and business associations, not only enhancing 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 academic reputation, but also giving its students and faculty 鈥渇irst dibs鈥� on cutting-edge knowledge.

The central location of a Mission Valley campus would ease access to 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 many community services, including various clinical programs like psychology, autism services and speech, language and hearing sciences,
Welter noted.

鈥淲e have the chance to build a very different kind of campus that doesn鈥檛 exist yet in the San Diego region鈥攁 campus without borders,鈥� he said. 鈥淔or years, academia has been locked into an 鈥榠vory tower鈥� mindset where you have to storm the ivory tower to benefit from what鈥檚 inside. What we鈥檙e trying to build is something like a public square to benefit the 黑料吃瓜 students, faculty, staff and the community.鈥�

A river runs through it

Finally, the Mission Valley campus would . When builders broke ground on Jack Murphy Stadium in 1965, they severely altered the flow and hydrology of the San Diego River and its tributaries that ran through the site. Construction crews cut tons of dirt from the cliffs and built the stadium up on 鈥渢he world鈥檚 largest pitching mound鈥� to position it above the floodplain.
 
Then they tried to reroute the river鈥檚 flow around the massive asphalt parking lot, explained the 黑料吃瓜 Mission Valley plan鈥檚 principal architect, Gordon Carrier.

The river never really cooperated, he said, as evidenced by the fact that the site frequently floods during stormy weather. Carrier envisions restoring the river鈥檚 natural winds and bends within the Mission Valley river park and allowing the park itself to act as a natural floodplain. Allowing the river to dictate development means finger parks will bring nature and green space into the campus.
 
鈥淚f open space is done right, it can inspire thoughtful development, which sets the tone for the whole site,鈥� Carrier said. 鈥淭here are few, if any, opportunities to influence a region like this plan can influence San Diego. Mission Valley is really the epicenter of the entire community, and it鈥檚 immensely important to get it right.鈥�

View the 黑料吃瓜 Mission Valley website to learn more about the site plan and view renderings.