The Goodwill store and donation center, which once stood across the street from City College’s V Building on 16th and Broadway, was torn down earlier this semester and is now a busy construction site, the first phase of a Makers Quarter area.
Makers Quarter is a planned mixed-use redevelopment of the deteriorating Jerome’s Furniture warehouse land and will feature parks, office space, retail shopping and luxury apartments.
Kris Mitchell, of the Downtown San Diego Partnership, calls this area “the last jewel in the crown of downtown.”
The first phase of Makers Quarter, and the nearest to City College, will be the Broadstone apartment complex, a 50,000-square-foot site, bounded by Broadway and 16th, 17th and E streets. The $60 million, 265-unit project was unveiled to the public on April 11.
“Makers Quarter is going to be that unique public space for innovation, for new start-ups, for residential, for restaurants,” Mayor Kevin Faulkner told CBS 8 at the groundbreaking ceremony that day.
Inspired by the Maker Movement, the goal of the project is to make the area the city’s new high-tech job center.
Robert Gettinger, a representative for SLP Urban Development, which is responsible for the Makers Quarter development, spoke about the impact of Makers Quarter on City College.
“I think creating a vibrant community in this area could really benefit City College and City College’s future,” Gettinger said.
Original plans for re-development of the Jerome’s Furniture warehouse area have fallen through in previous years, and it wasn’t until 2013 that the current $900 million master plan for Makers Quarter was announced.
According to Gettinger, Makers Quarter is expected to be completed sometime in the early 2020’s,
“Parts (of Makers Quarter) will be opening by the end of 2016, and it’s really going to continue and progress through the next five to seven years,” said Gettinger.
According to the Makers Quarter website (makersquarter.com), the Broadstone apartment building will have underground parking. It remains to be seen how the influx of new residents to City College’s area will affect the campus.
