Navy Broadway Complex
Anchor of the North Embarcadero
Frequently Asked Questions
Last updated: 5/11/06
The Navy Broadway Complex is a nearly 15-acre site owned by the U.S. Navy. It is located along downtown's Western waterfront bordered by Broadway to the north, Pacific Highway to the east and Harbor Drive to the West and south. Historically, it has served as the Navy Region Southwest Command Headquarters and location of the Fleet Industrial Supply Center. During the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process, the BRAC Commission elected to let the Navy seek development opportunities under the 1992 Development Agreement between the Navy and the City of San Diego. The Navy was given until January 1, 2007 to enter into a long-term lease for the redevelopment of their site, or the property will be closed under BRAC.
CCDC is charged with consistency determination as it relates to the 1992 Development Agreement and will oversee the review process for the proposed development plan for the site and design review for all buildings proposed. CCDC will review the proposed project for conformance with the Environmental Impact Report and Mitigation Monitoring Plan prepared for the Development Agreement. The park design will be discussed at three distinct public workshops and at five subsequent Centre City Advisory Committee and CCDC Board meetings over the next 3-4 months.
A series of public workshops and meetings are scheduled to obtain public comment on a) design concepts for the park space, b) the proposed development for the site, and c) coordination with the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan and adjacent projects.
Workshop I (Development & Park Discussions)
Thu. April 6, 2006, 5:30 p.m.,
Westgate Hotel,
Versailles Room, 1055 Second Avenue
Workshop II (Development Discussion)
Sat. April 22, 2006, 9:30 a.m. walking tour, 10:30 program,
Embarcadero Meeting Room, 585 Harbor Lane
Workshop III (Development Discussion)
Thu. April 27, 2006, 5:30 p.m.,
Courtyard by Marriott
San Diego Central, Spectrum Ballroom,
8651 Spectrum Center Blvd.
Workshop IV (Development & Park Discussions)
Sat. May 13, 2006, 10 a.m.,
Balboa Park, Palisades Building,
Recital Hall, 2130 Pan American Plaza
Workshop V (Development & Park Discussions)
Sat. June 3, 2006, 10 a.m.,
San Diego Community Concourse,
Silver Room, 202 C St.
Wed. April 12, 2006, 2 p.m.,
CCDC Real Estate Committee Mtg,
CCDC offices,
225 Broadway, Ste. 1100
Wed. May 24, 2006, 2 p.m.,
CCDC Board Mtg,
Council Chambers,
202 C St., 12th Floor
Wed. July 12, 2006, 2 p.m.,
CCDC Real Estate Committee Mtg,
CCDC offices,
225 Broadway, Ste. 1100
Wed. July 19, 2006, 5:15 p.m.,
Centre City Advisory Committee,
CCDC offices,
225 Broadway, Ste. 1100
Wed. July 26, 2006, 2 p.m.,
CCDC Board Mtg,
Council Chambers,
202 C St., 12th Floor
The purpose and the structure of the public workshops is to:
- Provide a summary and understanding of the proposed development concept and it's physical context;
- Listen to citizen's comments and suggestions; and
- Provide forum for public interaction.
Starting with the April 22 workshop, future workshops will provide an opportunity for public comment to the assembled group.
The Development Agreement in effect stipulates that any portion of the project, including future phases, shall be submitted to CCDC for consistency review and determination, according to the approved Development Plan and Urban Design Guidelines. Each design stage of any building project, from concept through construction blueprints, is to be reviewed by CCDC for conformity to the standards and initial consistency determination, and reviewed to determine how the conditions imposed in connection with the previous submissions have been accommodated.
The developer, Manchester Financial Group, was selected through an extensive Request for Qualifications/Proposals process conducted by the U.S. Navy. Proposals were received on January 4, 2006, and the Navy spent three months reviewing them before announcing their selection on March 31, 2006. The Navy will enter into a long-term lease for the mixed-use development of the property, which will include a new, energy-efficient, centrally located, permanent administrative headquarters for Navy Region Southwest and other Navy tenants. The Navy will continue to own the property with the developer holding a long-term ground lease.
With the exception of development of the Navy office site, the payment of processing costs, development impact fees and/or other applicable fees for the private development portion of the site will be paid by the developer.
Development on federal property is generally exempt from complying with a local jurisdiction's land use regulations, design criteria and development standards. On June 1, 1987, the City of San Diego and the U.S. Navy entered into an Memorandum of Understanding setting forth the process for the formulation of detailed plans and terms for development of the Navy Broadway Complex site. The 1992 Development Agreement was established through an extensive public review process. It provides for a specific development plan, and adheres to the downtown urban guidelines (i.e. land uses, intensity of use, viewscapes, building heights, open space, etc.) which define the nature of the development which will occur on the Navy Broadway Complex site.
The Development Agreement also provides for additional public cultural and recreational amenities such as a 1.9 acre park/open space and a 40-55,000 square-foot museum space, as well as enhanced public right-of-way improvements in accordance with the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan.
The 1992 Development Agreement provides that the Navy Broadway Complex is federal property and is not subject to taxation. Therefore, no fees, taxes or other charges which are secured by real property may be imposed on Navy Broadway Complex.
However, the Development Agreement recognizes that the Developer's possessory interest in federal property and in certain improvements will be taxable in accordance with the Constitution of the State of California and laws enacted thereunder. This means that the city will benefit from transient occupancy taxes and sales taxes, and tax increment will flow to the Centre City Redevelopment Project Area.
The Base Closure and Realignment Commission, known as BRAC, provides the process used by the Department of Defense since 1988 to analyze needs and consolidate or close excess infrastructure to more efficiently and effectively support its forces, increase operational readiness, and facilitate new ways of doing business. A complete explanation of the BRAC process can be found at http://www.dod.gov/brac/docs/definitions012004.pdf
After a military installation has been designated for closure under the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990, the Navy is required to offer the property to other agencies within the Department of Defense (DoD), plus the United States Coast Guard. If no DoD agency or the Coast Guard requests a transfer of the property, it is declared "excess" to the needs of the Department of Defense.
The Navy would then be required to offer the property to other federal agencies, that could request an interagency transfer of the property, called a "fed-to-fed" transfer.
In a "fed-to-fed" transfer, the Secretary of the Navy must determine whether to grant the request and whether to waive the requirement that the requesting federal agency pay fair market value for the property, a waiver to which the Director of the Office Of Management And Budget must consent.
In the previous rounds of BRAC in 1988, 1991, 1993, and 1995, other federal agencies regularly sought to acquire base closure property from the military departments through these "Fed-To-Fed" Transfers. Federal agencies acquired about 100,000 acres of base closure property in these four rounds, accounting for 21 per cent of the acreage disposed of in those rounds of base closures and realignments. It is already clear from public statements that other federal agencies are very interested in base closure property that will be available from the 2005 round of BRAC.
If another federal agency receives the property, it is exempt from local zoning, permitting and taxes. The property could remain "as is" or be redeveloped to suit the needs of the federal agency. Assuming no federal agency requests the property, the Secretary of the Navy can make it available to state or local governments, non-profit organizations and private parties under a variety of statutory authorities.
The Office of the Secretary of Defense's Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA) would then recognize a Local Redevelopment Authority (LRA) for the Navy Broadway Complex. The LRA is typically the local governmental entity that has zoning authority over the property, in this case the City of San Diego. The LRA would, with financial support of the Department of Defense, begin a reuse planning process. In past BRACs, this process has taken two to four years. In the case of the Navy Broadway Complex, this would replicate the process that has already been undertaken for the Navy Broadway Complex, costing significant delays in redevelopment.
The Navy Broadway Complex site is a vital link between the North and South Embarcadero along San Diego's waterfront. It is a critical component of the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan, a $230-million public-infrastructure plan to revitalize downtown's entire western waterfront with new landscaping, public spaces and retail space. Implementation of the Navy Broadway Complex development will significantly enhance the southern end of the waterfront. The developer will be required to construct public improvements around the site in accordance with NEVP requirements. Tax dollars generated by the Navy Broadway development could help fund some components of the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan.
Both the Navy Broadway Complex and North Embarcadero Visionary Plan contain the fundamental elements of the Central Bayfront Design Principles (view corridors, stepping development "down" to the Bay, waterfront public access). CCDC will work with the selected developer to assure that the Navy Broadway Complex project fits within the framework of the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan and incorporates specific design elements and principles.
There is an absolute continuum of planning for the northern waterfront, and it is punctuated by plans and processes discussed over the past 17 years—but which are completely consistent and intertwined.
The principles on which all plans for the waterfront are based are incorporated in the 1992 Community Plan, Navy Broadway Complex Development Agreement, Catellus Development Agreement, North Embarcadero Visionary Plan, Port Master Plan and 2006 Community Plan. It is important to note that the consistency of public input on these principles over time has continued to validate them.
In 1988, in response to the Navy's desire to develop their property, SANDAG established the Central Bayfront/Broadway Complex Coordinating Group, one of the first groups convened to establish the future of the waterfront. The principles they established – the Central Bayfront Design Principles – are very much a part of our planning today and have formed the basis of every subsequent plan for this area.
The Central Bayfront Principles are:
- Stepped intensity and scale (stepping down to the Bay);
- Mixed-use diversity;
- Bayfront open space;
- Continuous bayfront esplanade;
- Pacific Highway/Kettner relieving traffic volumes from Harbor Drive; and
- Extended street grid.
These are simple, timeless and real principles for the waterfront that simply have not changed since they were developed in 1988. Subsequent public process and review of all plans have validated and incorporated these principles, and are the foundation of the Navy Broadway Complex Development Agreement as well as the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan, and have been directly incorporated into the Port Master Plan and the Downtown Community Plan.
These basic principles, as well as the urban design guidelines and the architectural treatment cited in both the 1992 Development Agreement and the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan, are virtually identical because they are based on the Central Bayfront Design Principles. CCDC will ensure that the integrity of these principles is maintained and implemented in the review of the proposed development of the Navy Broadway Complex.
The construction standards and specifications for buildings and structures developed on the Navy Broadway Complex, (not including those to be occupied, in whole or in substantial part, by the Navy) shall be those City construction standards and specifications in effect at the time that any building permits are issued. Navy standards and specifications shall apply to parcels occupied by the Navy and no local permits will be applied for.
The 1992 Development Agreement states that the City of San Diego is responsible for the maintenance of the park.
All aspects of the Navy Broadway Complex proposal must implement the approved NEVP design, including the park. The selected consultants for the park (EEK) were the prime Consultants for the NEVP, so design continuity will be ensured.
Precise construction schedules will be established during the negotiation period. It is projected that construction of the Navy Administrative Facility will occur in 2007-2009 with additional phases of the project implemented over the next 10 years.
The legislation that authorizes the lease and development of the Broadway Complex requires that the facilities to be constructed for occupancy by the Navy be built on the Broadway Complex site in accordance with detailed plans and terms of development which have been duly formulated by the Secretary of the Navy and the San Diego community through the Broadway Complex Coordinating Group. These detailed plans and terms of development are contained in the "Development Plan and Urban Design Guidelines" incorporated into the 1992 Development Agreement.
The NEVP indicates a future transient dock facility to be located directly west of the Navy Broadway Complex site, between F and G streets immediately south of the Midway.
The current drawings shows approximately five acres of public open space (parks, plazas or walkways) on the Navy Broadway Complex site, including the required 1.9 acre park, the required north-south promenade, and the open areas shown around the two navy office buildings. The approximately five acres is in addition to the area of E, F & G Streets, and the sidewalks surrounding each block per the NEVP design, which would be fully public.
As part of the adopted Development Agreement, the developer must provide and lease 40-55,000 square feet of "easily accessible, unfinished shell space" for one or more museums or "suitable public-oriented/not-for-profit organizations recommended by the city." In addition, the 1.9-acre public park will include public art consistent with city policies for art in parks. The developer has also proposed a variety of art and memorial elements to be incorporated into the pedestrian passage and elsewhere in the project.
The North-South Passage on the Navy properties is required by the adopted Development Agreement; its purpose is to provide a continuous north-south pedestrian movement through the development, "linking the park at Broadway with Seaport Village." It also provides pedestrian circulation at approximately the same 200 ft. frequency found in the rest of downtown, to facilitate convenient walkability. The Passage is in addition to the sidewalks required all around the NBC properties (15-25 ft. wide on Harbor Drive; 17 ft. wide along Pacific Highway; 15- 20 ft. wide all others). The NEVP promenade along the waterfront is unaffected by the NBC project, and future portions will be implemented according to an approved timetable. A generous walking promenade already exists between Seaport Village and Broadway.
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