Against One Paseo, It's too Big
If you haven't already noticed, I'm against the One Paseo, San Diego project that Kilroy is proposing to build in Carmel Valley. And, unlike Kilroy, who is probably spending boatloads of money to try to convince you that there is broad community support for this project, and unlike other websites that might have conflicts due to sponsors or financial contributions they receive, I'm a totally independent, totally volunteer voice in the community. No real estate connection, no sponsors, no donations, no support -- just me. And, it's not like I'm a NIMBY sort, or anti-development: I was an early proponent of the idea of having a mixed-use project on this site. When Kilroy mentions that they're only doing this because it's what the community wants, they're talking about me -- literally: I was one of the "community leaders" at the first meeting with Kilroy where they asked if Carmel Valley would be interested in a "mixed use" project at this site. I was picturing a development like the Del Mar Plaza, possibly with a Trader Joes and some restaurants, plus some office buildings, and some residential, so, I said, yes! After all, Carmel Valley doesn't want just another office complex, we want something better!
Unfortunately, the scale of the proposal is now beyond my ability to imagine it. If you want a rough estimate, imagine taking the Town Center shopping center across the street and putting it into this much smaller space. Then add the Pell Place apartments (next to the Rec Center), twice! In addition, add two buildings the size of the Marriott hotel (down by the ARCO) and the 8 story office building next to it, and finally, add the Doubletree hotel across the street! I think that’s roughly the amount of development proposed. I just can't support this much development at this small site. And, the traffic that goes with it! See the One Paseo section for more posts on this subject and the One Paseo image.
So, let's ask Kilroy to come back with a reduced, mixed use development that better fits Carmel Valley! I hear they're taking input at talk@onepaseo.com. How about 200 apartments, some restaurants, a community gathering space and a Trader Joe's? We're not against development, but there should be a better idea that gets us something great for the community and allows them to build a profitable center. Anyway, that's my opinion.
Ken Farinsky, Community Volunteer
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too big / too small what is right
I think it would be more constructive to be a little more specific. Other than 200 housing units what do you think is too big / too small? Currently they are proposing: 220,000sqft retail, 50,000sqft cinima, 536,000sqft office, 150 hotel rooms and 600 housing units. Del Mar Plaza is 75,000sqft, I doubt Kilroy will even bother if their project got cut back that far. It will be interesting to see what the EIR says in regards to traffic.
Martin
nothing is too small about this project!
OK, I'll admit it, Kilroy is listening! Within an hour of my posting, there's already a response!
So, what is too big? Pretty much everything. Well, the hotel might be OK. Oh, and I guess there is something too small -- the size of the public plaza! San Diego City Standards would require 4 acres of park space for the proposed number of units, but the development contains nowhere near this much plaza.
Seriously, what would I change? Let's start by trying to make the residential development better relate to the adjacent uses. The current housing on Del Mar Heights Road is 1 to 2 story. Similarly, the office buildings at the corner of High Bluff are 1 to 2 story. Placing 4, 5 and 10 story buildings next to these uses is NOT a compatible use! So, let's change the residential at the corner of High Bluff so it's 1 to 2 story. As you work down the street towards the hotel, perhaps 2 to 3 story. Higher than 3 story is too much.
On to Main Street. Have you ever seen a street of 4 and 5 story residential OVER retail? It's huge! It's something you'd see downtown in a big city, not in a suburban village (walk through the Gaslamp district and you'll see almost nothing that's 6 stories tall.) So, how about 2 stories over retail? That's more what we've been shown in the presentations (the renderings, the pictures of CityWalk, etc.) If you include lots of setbacks and balconies, this might even be fairly human-scale.
For the Retail, I would think that a 50,000 sqft cinema along with 100,000 sqft of retail might be possible, but probably overkill. Looking at the Del Mar Highlands Town Center, they have something like 70 stores in 250,000 sqft, and that includes Ralphs, Jimbos and RiteAid. So, you should easily be able to put in 35 stores in half that area. Start with Trader Joe's (much smaller than Ralphs), add 5 or 6 restaurants, and you should still leave you with room for another 20 or 30 stores! And I've kept the big cinema, but perhaps it's even oversized. Do we really need another 100,000 sqft of stores beyond that, another 35 storefronts?
Once you've reduced the residential and retail components, you can then lower the office towers (why do we need 10 story buildings on this site?) Perhaps you could reduce the total height to 6 stories, and have the office buildings go over the parking garage, and/or the cinema. Or, perhaps you could just reduce the commercial square footage in exchange for all the other uses being allowed on the site?
We need a vastly reduced project alternative that the community could use for comparison. Actually, it would be really great if Kilroy could provide 3 alternatives:
Of course, the commercial only alternative should NOT depict a single, tall office building, because that isn't allowed by the Carmel Valley Precise Plan for the area. The Plan specifically calls for multiple, low buildings that are stepped up the slope on different levels, so that's what the alternative should show.
Ken Farinsky