East Village Neighborhood Downtown
San Diego
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Location
East Village is the largest neighborhood in downtown San Diego, with rapid growth and new developments it is also the most exciting of the newer neighborhoods springing up all over our beautiful city. It encompasses 130 blocks, located east of the Gaslamp Quarter and southeast of Cortez Hill, running from 6th Street all the way to 16th Street, covering 325 acres of prime San Diego real estate. Since the San Diego Padres baseball team built their new stadium, this area is also known as the Ballpark District.
History
Before 1992, when The Centre City Community Plan was implemented, this was one of San Diego's most blighted areas, home to drugs, crime, and a large homeless population, with empty industrial warehouses and abandoned lots. With the CCCP taking an interest in this area it soon saw great improvements, first with social services, then young artist started moving into the area, refurbishing old buildings and lofts and studios, followed by new commercial and residential developments making this a much improved and vibrant neighborhood. We find that a rich artistic culture has risen, with the New School of Architecture, San Diego City College, and two high schools, attracting a youthful and creative population.
The development of a new ballpark, home to the Padres, San Diego's baseball team, named Petco Park, completed in 2004 at the cost of $458 million lead to a totally revitalized downtown San Diego, now known as East Village. Some of the older, historical buildings found in this neighborhood, including Simon Levi Building, the Old Candy Factory, and Shifter & Sons building, were relocated to other locations in East Village, giving this area a special character all its own.
One of the last vestiges of the East Village's "bad old days" was the razing of the old Gaslamp Liquor Store at Market Street and 9th Avenue, in front of a cheering crowd celebrating the groundbreaking ceremony for The Mark, a 32-story condominium complex to be built in the site. The old Gaslamp Liquor Store, a squat, one-story structure with an oval roof, represented some of the best and worst of the neighborhood over the past 50 years.
Today
The East Village today is nothing like its former self with its dive bars, drug addicts, homelessness and high crime. Today we find schools, a central police station, commercial services and industry that balance the residential land use. This center of modern urban development is also the home to a vibrant artistic environment, with its studios, galleries and shops dotting the landscape. It houses the first luxury fitness club in downtown San Diego, aptly named "Fit", offering its patrons a hip, upscale and fun social scene packed with the top-of-the-line fitness equipment, highly qualified personal trainers and fitness instructors. Future infrastructure plans encompass a Park-to-the-Bay link that will connect Balboa Park with the San Diego Bay via a colorful promenade through East Village, a new Jefferson Law School, and the new Main San Diego Library.
The Neighborhood of East Village
The neighborhood of East Village is a modern urban village with loft complexes,lounges, bistros, and luxury high-rise condominium homes mixed in a potpourri of interesting city living. For investment purposes, the East Village infrastructure neighborhood is a "phase-one" investment that is thriving as construction continues and street level retail, restaurants, bars and shops pop up monthly. Recently, Albertson' s opened a 43,000" luxury shopping center that is much appreciated by the people residing in this area, adding to the comfort and meeting the needs of its residents. Home prices today is the buyers dream and living in the East Village neighborhood is possibly an attainable dream for most of today' s new home buyers.
