Groundbreaking Held for North Embarcadero Visionary Plan

Friday, 06 January 2012

Under sunny skies, more than 200 people gathered at the San Diego Bay waterfront – at the corner of North Harbor Drive and West Broadway – to attend a groundbreaking ceremony for the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan Phase 1 project on January 5, 2012.

Port of San Diego, City of San Diego, and Centre City Development Corporation officials lined up and proudly shoveled a mound of dirt to signify the start of the $28.6 million project that was in the planning stages for 15 years.

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"Projects of this magnitude and grandeur don't happen overnight, and don't happen without a lot of public debate and scrutiny," said Scott Peters, Chairman of the Board of Port Commissioners.

"We are here today because in the end, we got it done because we brought the parties together and found common ground for the common good and for the public benefit," Peters said.

Peters served as host of the ceremony. San Diego Council President Pro Tem Kevin L. Faulconer was master of ceremonies. Remarks were delivered by San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, CCDC Board Director and former Port Commissioner Laurie Black, and former Port Commissioners Stephen P. Cushman and Mike McDade.

All concurred that this is a grand project for both residents and tourists that will connect downtown San Diego to the waterfront.

The North Embarcadero Visionary Plan Phase I is part of a comprehensive project to beautify the waterfront and create new public open space.

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When the project is completed in the summer of 2013, the waterfront will be adorned with a 105-foot wide esplanade that stretches from the Navy Pier to the B Street Pier. The esplanade will have formal gardens, plazas, shade pavilions and a waterfront promenade with space to stroll, bicycle, enjoy public events or just relax.

A landscaped median, with palm trees and decorative lighting, will be installed on West Broadway, creating a grand entrance to the San Diego bay front as West Broadway intersects North Harbor Drive.

The Port of San Diego was created by the state legislature in 1962. Since then, it has invested $1.7 billion in public improvements in its five member cities – Chula Vista, Coronado, Imperial Beach, 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.