The San Diego Unified School District kicked off major campus work Tuesday at 62-year-old Holmes Elementary School, part of a district-wide push for site modernizations.

Students at the two-time California Distinguished School joined Board of Education President Shana Hazan, Vice President Cody Petterson, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and others Tuesday to mark the groundbreaking on the construction, funded by local school bonds.

“Holmes Elementary staff have been devoted to students and the neighboring community for more than six decades, contributing to high test scores and academic success,” Hazan said. “With local voters approving our bond measures, we can match that success with high-quality, modern facilities, like the ones we will see here.”

Once completed, the project is slated to add an upper-grade classroom facility, a student services facility, a Universal Transitional Kindergarten classroom building, two kindergarten classrooms, a joint-use grass play field and other improvements, according to the district.

Existing upper-grade and kindergarten classrooms will be modernized to include new paint, flooring, finishes and white boards.

“With new housing underway down the street, now is the time to re-invigorate our campus so that it is ready to serve all neighborhood students,” Holmes Principal Jonathan Saipe said.

According to the district, additional improvements include the modernization of three classroom buildings, expansion of the food services kitchen, conversion of the student services facility into educational spaces, creation of a new parking lot with a student drop-off and pick-up area and enhancements to safety, security and exterior hard court areas.

The joint-use grass play field will feature a walking and running track, a drinking fountain, new trees, fencing and gates to separate the field from the main campus. As part of a partnership with the city, the field will be accessible to the community as a neighborhood park after school hours and during school breaks.

Construction on the project is estimated to be completed in late 2026.

City News Service contributed to this article.

San Diego Unified School District leaders Monday broke ground on the second phase of Mira Mesa High School‘s site modernization project, intended to enhance campus security, build a new student services and classroom facility, and remove all remaining portable classrooms, among other changes.

“At San Diego Unified, we are committed to creating schools where all students can thrive and feel a sense of belonging,” said Lamont Jackson, superintendent of San Diego Unified School District. “I’m excited about all that Mira Mesa High School will offer students and staff with these exciting renovations to its campus.”

Other improvements on the project — set to be completed in summer 2027 — include converting the existing student services facility into classrooms, renovating aging classrooms and common areas, adding a new visitor and administrator parking lot and constructing shaded lunch court areas.

Monday’s groundbreaking included a performance from the “Sapphire Sound” drumline. The school has served its community for 49 years, where it offers hands-on college, career, and technical education programs in arts, media, and entertainment, engineering, health sciences, hospitality, manufacturing and product development and transportation.

“Our students work hard year-round and we are thrilled to give them facilities that will complement their hard work,” said Jeff Sabins, principal of Mira Mesa High School.

Last spring, the district completed construction on a renovated baseball field, including new grass infield and outfield, foul ball fencing, a CIF regulation backstop at the baseball field, a new public address system and drinking fountain, replacement of the announcers’ booth, repairs to the dugouts and batting cages, and upgrades to grading and irrigation, a district statement read.

The field followed the completion of the first phase of the Mira Mesa High School site modernization project. That phase included construction of a music building, renovations to existing classrooms and upgrades to workspaces in the media center.

“My children grew up in Mira Mesa and attended this high school, so it’s especially exciting to see these projects come to fruition,” said Sabrina Bazzo, SDUSD Board of Education trustee. “This is just one of many schools in my sub-district receiving campus upgrades. It’s wonderful to see the positive impact these projects have on students and families.”

City News Service contributed to this article.

San Diego is adding a fifth new arts venue to what Mayor Todd Gloria termed a “constellation of stars” with the groundbreaking on Tuesday for “The Joan” in Liberty Station.

The NTC Foundation, which manages Liberty Station, and Cygnet Theatre are partnering to transform historic Building 178 in the former naval training center into a world-class performing arts venue — and a permanent home for Cygnet.

It will be named The Joan and Irwin Jacobs Performing Art Center — “The Joan” for short — in honor of the philanthropic couple who have given so much to the arts in San Diego and are lead donors.

“We are so grateful to Joan and Irwin Jacobs and other lead donors, the State of California and National Parks Service for their generous contributions that have propelled the project to this pivotal  groundbreaking point,” said Lisa Johnson, CEO of the NTC Foundation.

When completed in the spring of 2025, the $43.5 million center will have a 289-seat theater, a 150-seat studio, two bars, three patios and support facilities including dressing rooms, a costume shop and orchestra space. Extensive soundproofing will minimize airplane noise from the nearby airport.

Cygnet Artistic Director Sean Murray promised to “weave this new performing arts center into the cultural fabric of our community” by offering space for small theater groups and other performing arts organizations that don’t have a permanent location.

Cygnet and the NTC Foundation hope to bring 50,000 theater attendees annually to enjoy live performances at the center and patronize restaurants and shops at Liberty Station. While 73% of the project’s fundraising goal has been met, additional donations are necessary for completion.

Gloria said The Joan, along with the new Rady Shell, Epstein Family Amphitheater, and recently renovated Museum of Contemporary Art and Mingei International Museum are a “constellation of stars” that have significantly improved the arts scene in San Diego.

He cited a recent city report that the arts and creative industries generate $10.8 billion in annual economic impact. “That’s a lot of jobs. That’s a lot of tax dollars,” Gloria said.

Irwin Jacobs echoed the Mayor in brief comments, saying that his businesses Linkabit and Qualcomm always supported the arts because that helped attract and keep the most talented employees.

Jacobs said he and Joan look forward to the opening of the new center, promising, “We will be here very often.”

San Diego’s new Major League Soccer team Thursday broke ground on its training facility and its Right to Dream Youth Development Academy, a significant milestone toward taking the pitch in 2025.

The future facility will be built on the Sycuan Reservation in El Cajon. The groundbreaking was attended by notables from the San Diego soccer scene, including Don Garber, the MLS commissioner, Mohamed Mansour, chairman of San Diego Football Club, and Manny Machado, a founding partner in the club and the San Diego Padres’ third baseman, among others.

“Our performance center and Right to Dream Academy will enable us to develop future generations of world-class players across greater San Diego,” said Tom Penn, CEO of San Diego FC. “This groundbreaking initiative reaffirms our commitment to create opportunities for young talent to flourish and our vision to become the epicenter of football excellence and innovation in North America.”

The Right to Dream Academy will be “an integral part” of the club’s 125,000 square-foot campus, featuring a 50,000-square-foot sports performance facility shared by the first team and academy teams, and five full-sized soccer fields, including three natural turf fields and two synthetic turf fields.

“The groundbreaking is a historic moment for sports in the U.S.,” Mansour said. “San Diego FC is the first major sports organization in America to be jointly owned by a Native American tribe, and now we are the first major club to build a training facility and Right to Dream academy on Native American land.

“Singing Hills is hallowed ground, and we hope that what we build here will do it justice and create a lasting legacy,” he said.

According to the team, the residential academy will house male students between the ages of 12 and 18, spanning grades six through 12. The first group of residential athletes will be enrolled in fall 2025. Additionally, SDFC will create a non-residential girls pathway at the academy.

“This is a proud moment for the Sycuan Tribe and a giant step in serving the next generation of young athletes and future leaders throughout the San Diego community,” said Cody Martinez, vice-chairman of the club and Sycuan tribal chairman. “Today’s historic groundbreaking marks not only the construction of San Diego FC’s state-of-the-art training facility but also lays the foundation to nurture the dreams of young talent, fostering a stronger community and creating a legacy of soccer excellence.”

The Right to Dream Academy is a scholarship-based academy in which all enrolled, residential athletes will receive full five-year scholarships regardless of football performance.

“To see this project come to life is absolutely incredible,” Machado said. “It’s important for me to leave a lasting legacy in San Diego, which has been so supportive.

“Our San Diego FC vision for the youth development academy means there will be more opportunities for young San Diego athletes, boys and girls, who may not have otherwise had them,” he said. I’m looking forward to seeing the next generation of talented athletes and future leaders emerge from this program.

The 28-acre project was designed by Gensler. San Diego based Zephyr is serving as the development partner on the project, led by SDFC founding partner Brad Termini. AECOM is the general contractor.

“The San Diego FC training facility and Right to Dream Academy will represent one of the most innovative soccer development facilities not only in MLS but in all of global soccer,” Garber said. “For boys and girls in the San Diego area, it will serve as an inspiration to everyone who dreams of playing for their local MLS or NWSL team, or even representing the U.S. on the world stage.

–City News Service

San Diego County officials broke ground Wednesday on a new public health lab at the County Operations Center in Kearny Mesa.

The $93.3 million project will be nearly three times the size of the old building on Rosecrans when it is complete. The older facility closed due to its aging infrastructure.

According to the county, the new two-story facility will measure 52,000 square feet and create space for nearly 90 employees and contractors, and still allow room to grow.

The county’s public health lab tests for infectious diseases such as COVID-19, Respiratory Syncytial Virus known as RSV, flu and others. Additionally, lab workers also test for food and water safety, animal rabies and dangerous pathogens like anthrax.

The new facility will serve as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Lab for San Diego and Imperial counties and the expanded facility also allows for additional services such as whole genome sequencing and testing for tuberculosis.

Officials moved forward on the project after an analysis found that consolidating campus offices could empty an existing four-story office building — moving 600 staff members for the Health Services Center and saving an estimated $130 million to build them a new facility.

Those savings are being used for construction of the public health lab and a six-level parking garage nearby — a $33.8 million structure with more than 700-spaces and up to 260 electric vehicle charging stations.

The garage is expected to open in September 2024 and the lab in spring 2025.

City News Service contributed to this article.

The city of Chula Vista broke ground Monday on the $96.4 million first phase of UniverCity at Chula Vista, located in the Millenia master-planned community.

The project is intended to add state-of-the-art office space and the first new city library since 1995, as well as leaving space for the city’s first four-year university, a long-time goal of city leaders.

“This is an unparalleled opportunity for higher education and business partners, and for our entire community,” Mayor John McCann said. “Our vision is to provide access to quality higher education and teach the latest, most effective curriculum to bring high paying jobs to our area.”

Of the $96.4 million price tag on the first phase, $30 million is coming from the state, administered by the California State Library.

Sen. Steve Padilla, D-Chula Vista, a former Chula Vista Mayor and member of the City Council, worked with Assemblyman David Alvarez, D-Chula Vista, to secure approval of a Surplus Land Act exemption the 383-acre site to be able to use the land for higher education and employment-related development.

“Today marks an important step toward our goal of bringing a four-year university to Chula Vista,” Padilla said. “This project has been something I have been committed to for decades. This community deserves the economic and academic opportunities that will be created here.”

This initial phase includes construction of the 168,000 square-foot Think Campus at Millenia Office building, with construction expected to be complete in fall 2025.

Planned to anchor that new building will be Chula Vista’s largest public library. At 60,000 square feet, it is “envisioned to include community meeting spaces, a passport office, and a business incubator that provides resources and support for small businesses,” the city statement reads. It will replace a smaller facility in Otay Ranch Town Center.

“I am proud to be part of this project and in helping secure $25 million in state funding,” Alvarez said. “I will continue to find new opportunities for educational growth with the goal of a university in Chula Vista.”

The other $5 million was secured by Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins, D-San Diego. The long-term plans of the project include more than 12 million square feet of available development space across three locations in the city, two in Millenia and the third that previously surplus land 383-acre site at Hunte and Eastlake Parkways.

CBRE, Chula Vista’s broker, is now seeking qualified tenants in various industries. Higher education partners are also engaged to support the vision and mission of the development, the city statement reads.

Chesnut Properties is the developer of this phase of the UniverCity at Chula Vista, along with general contractor McCarthy, and architectural firm Gensler.

City News Service contributed to this article.

Miramar National Cemetery will break ground on San Diego’s first Gold Star Families Memorial Monday, honoring the families of those who have lost a loved one while they served in the country’s armed forces.

The Woody Williams Foundation — a nonprofit named after the United States’ last living World War II Medal of Honor winner who died in June 2022 and is now focused on creating Gold Star Family memorials around the nation — joined with a local committee to plan and fund the memorial. It will be located at the Memorial Walk at Miramar National Cemetery.

“I am truly honored to walk with the city of San Diego, Gold Star Family members, and the local community to bring this Gold Star Families Memorial Monument to San Diego,” said David Myers, chairman of the San Diego Gold Star Families Memorial Monument committee.

Myers, along with an all-volunteer committee, worked over the last five years bring the project to fruition. Support was provided by individual donors and through various fundraising events — which will continue until the monument’s completion. Its dedication is tentatively scheduled for Veterans Day, Nov. 10.

The committee also included a local Gold Star Family member, Tony Cordero, who was 5 when his father was shot down over Vietnam.

This monument will be the first Gold Star Families Memorial Monument in the area, despite having over 130 similar monuments across the United States and San Diego having one of the largest military presences in the country.

“We owe it to San Diego, home to so many active military, veteran and Gold Star families, to honor, recognize, and serve the families who have sacrificed so much in the name of freedom,” said the late Woody Williams.

–City News Service

County officials Thursday broke ground on the addition of multiple sports courts and facilities at downtown San Diego’s Waterfront Park.

County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Nora Vargas joined Parks and Recreation officials for the project groundbreaking — which, when finished, will include the additions of a basketball court, pickleball courts, a dog park, exercise station, table tennis and more.

“I think that so many folks are on social media every day and people are looking at their phones,” Vargas said. “We need to talk to people more. We need to build more community. Because that’s the way we get to know each other and get to really work together. And I think that’s why parks are so important.”

Construction on the $3 million additions have already begun and the plan is to have the new amenities open for the public sometime in the spring of 2024, according to a county statement.

The project will include an off-leash dog zone with agility equipment, a five-feature outdoor exercise station, lighting and shaded seating.

County Parks and Recreation Director Brian Albright said the south portion of the park would continue to feature its existing garden, and three Torrey Pines trees there would be moved to the garden portion.

San Diego County opened the $50 million Waterfront Park in 2014, transforming a parking lot and several buildings into 12 acres of civic green space and recreational facilities.

City News Service contributed to this article.

Rady Children’s Hospital broke ground Tuesday for a billion-dollar, seven-story intensive care unit and emergency services pavilion.

The pavilion, scheduled to open in 2027, will be a 500,000-square-foot structure with a new emergency department, advanced pediatric, neonatal and cardiac intensive care units and operating rooms.

According to a Rady statement, the facility will feature “welcoming, child-friendly areas and contain large, single patient rooms with space for caregivers to stay.”

The pavilion will also include spaces with the ability to adapt for different purposes at different times as care models change in the decades to come.

The new tower is the largest construction project in the hospital’s nearly 70-year history and estimated to cost between $1.2 billion and $1.4 billion.

Construction costs will be supported by a $200 million pledge from Ernest and Evelyn Rady made in 2019.

“This is a generational transformation,” said Dr. Patrick Frias, president and CEO of the hospital. “We not only need to be sized and scaled appropriately to serve our community today, we need to be built for the future to meet the complex needs of families in the decades ahead.”

Frias was joined by San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and San Diego City Councilman Raul Campillo at the groundbreaking .

City News Service contributed to this article.

Developer Community HousingWorks broke ground on the Cortez Hill Apartments Friday, which when finished will provide 87 affordable housing units, including 14 for people experiencing chronic homelessness.

The developer obtained a $5 million loan and rental housing vouchers from the San Diego Housing Commission for the project. In addition, SDHC authorized the issuance of up to $21.2 million in tax-exempt Multifamily Housing Revenue Bonds and up to $10.2 million in taxable bonds, which the San Diego City Council approved in its role as the Housing Authority. The city is not liable for the bonds, which will be repaid with private sources of funding, such as revenue from the development.

“We need more of this, not just in downtown; it’s not just in San Diego,” said Mayor Todd Gloria. “If you’re with me, whenever you see an opportunity — whether it’s at the kitchen table with that neighbor that does not like more housing in your neighborhood, whether it’s your friends on social media who maybe talk about housing being a bad thing, it’s not.”

“It’s necessary for a civilized society and what we need to be successful as a community and city,” he said.

SDHC awarded 87 rental housing vouchers to help pay rent for the residents at the property when it is completed. The vouchers will be linked directly to the development. When a resident moves on, the voucher will remain to help another eligible household.

“We are so deeply excited to be celebrating this day,” Community HousingWorks CEO Sean Spear said. “It recognizes that we, all of us, and especially on the lender and city side, this was a long road to get to this point of the groundbreaking.”

People Assisting the Homeless will provide case management services for the residents who experienced homelessness and additional services for all residents.

Site amenities will include a community room, computer learning centers and an outdoor community space that will provide resident services and programs. The community room will include a kitchen, restrooms, bike storage, a computer lab and meeting and gathering spaces. An on-site laundry facility will be accessible from the courtyard.

Financing for the development also includes low-income housing tax credits, which California State Treasurer Fiona Ma’s office administers.

The rent for units at Cortez Hill Apartments will be affordable to households with income of 30% to 40% of San Diego’s Area Median Income, or $33,100 to $44,100 per year for a two-person household.

On Thursday, the SDHC and Affirmed Housing opened The Helm, an affordable housing development with 77 units, also on Cortez Hill.