San Diego, California, USA
“Neighborhood Next is designed by some of the world’s best planners as a plan for a future San Diego where housing is affordable and we live more sustainably,” said Zach Adams, senior vice president of development at ConAm Group.
“It includes big, new ideas about things that matter, such as resolving the housing crisis, taking bold steps to combat climate change, encouraging transit travelers, providing an inspiring arena, and creating more opportunities for San Diego residents to afford to live in this wonderful city.”
Danish architecture offices of 3XN I GXN and Gehl Architects, together with developers ConAm Management Corporation, have been selected for the second phase of a new master plan in San Diego, California in conjunction with a new sports complex and grounds.
Titled “Neighborhood Next,” the 15-minute community proposes 5,000 homes for residents of all income levels, with cultural, commercial, and recreational spaces all weaved within green promenades and public parks.
Neighborhood Next initially presented the city with three arena options, including a new sports arena with 16,000 seats at the northwest edge of the site.
A central path called the GreenLine Promenade runs through a dense neighborhood that is full of apartment blocks and shops across the street.
An in-line rendering highlights how the ground-floor floors of apartment blocks will be used for shops and restaurants that help create a vibrant urban atmosphere.
Neighborhood Next aims to rebuild the plots of the sports ground in the style of Little Italy in San Diego, where a multitude of apartment buildings with a variety of heights and designs give life to a multitude of street-level activities.
Led by ConAm Group, a 47-year-old housing developer who has built more than 16,000 units in the United States, the developers present a city inside the city, modeled on Little Italy, where dozens of apartment blocks with commercial space on the ground floor produce a lot of activity at street level.
The Neighborhood Next plan is the most ambitious in the group when it comes to housing.
The San Diego-ConAm team is partnering with Malick Infill Development and affordable housing builders Community Housing Works and Wakeland Housing & Development Corp. to build 5,400 units in buildings of different heights and designs, where pocket parks and open spaces are fed on a GreenLine promenade that extends the length of the project and transports people from the eastern edge of the property to the San Diego River.
At least 25 percent of the units, or 1,350 apartment houses, will be reserved for families earning less than 80 percent of the area’s average income.
Although the proposed housing density is unusual outside of downtown San Diego, Neighborhood Next believes that the European-inspired model is not only suitable for plots in the Midway District but is much needed in a city where creating multiple offerings is a priority peak for city leaders.
The houses are designed to operate along with 300,000 square feet of commercial and office space, a dedicated community building that could house a school or library, and a 125-room hotel.
The group does not have an arena developer attached to its plan, but is working with Crossroads Consulting and has restricted its proposal to a single scenario that requires a complete renovation of the existing arena, with 16,000 seats.
With an ambition of making it “the world’s most livable community,” the master plan offers San Diego an all-inclusive ecosystem bustling with locals, shoppers, and tourists.
The plan would allow residents to live, work, socialize, and commute without the need of using a car.
A bridge is proposed across the freeway to reconnect the site to the river, enhancing its natural setting and improving the Bay-to-Bay link.
The main promenade is woven with several pedestrian paths and lined with a dynamic elevation of buildings.
Project: Neighborhood Next
Architects: 3XN I GXN and Gehl
Developer: ConAm Management Corporation
