USS Midway Museum to Host Public Workshops on Park Concept

Tuesday, 22 November 2011
Contact: Barbara Moreno (619) 686-6216

Three public workshops are planned in the coming weeks by the USS Midway Museum to discuss its concept for a park and iconic architectural element on Navy Pier.

All workshops will be held at the Port of San Diego's Administration Building, 3165 Pacific Highway (map), and will be facilitated by Tucker Sadler Associates, on behalf of the USS Midway. Even though the Port District is holding the meetings, this is not a Port of San Diego project.

The first meeting will be held Tuesday, November 29, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Other meetings are scheduled for:

• Tuesday, December 6 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, December 10 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

The USS Midway Museum, located at 910 N. Harbor Drive (map), is a tenant of the Port of San Diego. The requirement for development of a Veteran's Memorial Park emerged during the entitlement process for the USS Midway in 2001.

As part of Midway's lease agreement with the Port District and the Coastal Development Permit that it was granted by the California Coastal Commission, the Midway is required to provide a plan and project description for a park on Navy Pier by no later than October 1, 2012.

The Port District encourages more public open space. The current Port Master Plan states that a 5.7-acre Veteran's Memorial Park on Navy Pier is a specific planning goal of the Port District.

This is a tenant concept proposal and the Board of Port Commissioners has not taken a position on the project at this time.

Navy Pier Background

Navy Pier, which has the same address as the USS Midway Museum, was constructed in 1912 as a small working pier. In 1940, its length was extended to 988 feet long. The pier is currently approximately 5.7 acres in size.

After federal legislation was passed in August 2002, the Navy decided to surplus the pier and was authorized to allow the decommissioned USS Midway to berth at the pier as a naval aviation museum.

Since Navy Pier is located on state tidelands on San Diego Bay, the California State Lands Commission determined that the pier must be held in trust by the Port District.

For more information on the project, visit VeteransParkNavyPier.com

The Port of San Diego was created by state legislature in 1962 and is responsible for $1.7 billion in public improvements in its five member cities: Imperial Beach, Coronado, Chula Vista, National City and San Diego.

The Port District oversees two maritime cargo terminals, two cruise ship terminals, 17 public parks, the Harbor Police Department and the leases of more than 600 tenant and sub tenant businesses around San Diego Bay.