Nearly a year after its selection, the development team working alongside the United States Navy to remake the Naval Base Point Loma Old Town Campus is sketching in the details of a master plan that currently calls for replacement Navy facilities, thousands of residential units, millions of square feet of commercial space and two hotels on the 70.3-acre property commonly known as NAVWAR. Last month, the development team led by San Diego-based Manchester Financial Group and McLean, Virginia-based Edgemoor Infrastructure and Real Estate submitted a preliminary project summary to the city of San Diego. The draft document is a precursor to starting California’s mandated environmental review process, which is expected to begin early next year. San Diego will be the lead agency for the state environmental work. The document, obtained by the Union-Tribune, details that the mixed-use project calls for 2 million square feet of development for the Navy and 18.4 million square feet of private development. The private development proposal includes 8,900 residential units, 2.8 million square feet of commercial space, two hotels, and 281,300 square feet of retail shops and restaurants. Owned by the Navy since the mid-1990s, the NAVWAR property consists of two large parcels straddling Pacific Highway in San Diego’s Midway District. The larger parcel, which backs up to Interstate 5, is currently home to World War II-era hangars, visible from the freeway, that are said to be past their useful life. The hangars house the military’s Naval Information Warfare Systems Command and Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific divisions. The groups represent a mix of 5,000 full-time and contract cybersecurity professionals. In November 2022, the federal government issued a solicitation for the long-term lease and development of the property. The Navy is offering the land for “in-kind” consideration, meaning it expects to exchange the land for new NAVWAR facilities. The Navy facilities are, according to the solicitation, required to be built first and at no cost to the agency. In January, the Navy selected the Manchester-Edgemoor team, with the lead developers taking a 50-50 ownership stake in the development entity. The Manchester-Edgemoor team also includes Clark Construction as the project’s design-builder. Dealy Development Inc. is handling entitlements. HKS Architects is designing the new government facilities and firm HOK is charged with the master plan for the project’s private development. The Navy and the developers are likely tied together in an exclusive negotiating agreement, or ENA, although the Navy declined to share any details pertaining to contracts between the entities. The parties have, for the better part of 2024, been working behind the scenes to onboard consultants, conduct technical studies of the existing site and refine the project, a spokesperson for the Manchester-Edgemoor team said. A concept-only rendering from January 2024 shows a new NAVWAR building on the Naval Base Point Loma, Old Town Complex in San Diego’s Midway District. The development team is now moving forward with a concept based on the highest intensity alternative analyzed in the Navy’s 2021 draft environmental impact statement, which caused a panic substantial enough for the federal agency to put the federal environmental work on hold. The latest program elements are not set in stone, the developer said. “The program will continue to be refined as we better understand the economics and environmental impacts,” the Manchester-Edgemoor spokesperson said. As it stands, Manchester-Edgemoor is proposing to put all of the Navy’s facilities — 1.2 million square feet of space in two buildings for cybersecurity workers and 2,140 parking spaces in an underground garage — on what’s known as OTC 2, which is the smaller of the property’s two parcels. The 23.6-acre southwest parcel will be filled in with residential and commercial buildings, ground-floor retail and open space, the preliminary project summary states. The larger, 46.6-acre parcel will be exclusively for private development. Here, the development team envisions a mix of residential, hotel and commercial buildings with ground-floor retail, and several parks with a variety of amenities. The OTC 1 site is also expected to include a small transit center, although it will not provide direct trolley or train access, the document states. Related Articles Business | ‘We have options.’ San Diego may be able to deny Turquoise tower in Pacific Beach Business | Former port commissioner seeking more than $1M in damages for agency’s ‘unlawful retaliation’ Business | This Coronado resort hotel is planning a $220M makeover. So what’s in it for locals? Business | Port buys Coronado Cays lease for $3M, kills controversial RV resort project Business | Balboa Park’s Botanical Building reopens after $26.5M restoration In addition, the draft plan submitted to the city calls for improvements to existing roadways alongside a series of new internal roads that bisect each of the parcels. For instance, one new road would travel through the larger parcel, OTC 1, to create a direct link to the Old Town Transit Station just north of the site. The document also refers to something the developers are calling the Pacific Greenway, or a pedestrian-friendly and aesthetically pleasing street experience that follows Pacific Highway. The project draft is silent on building heights, except to note that towers will vary in height, shape and diameter, and that heights will be limited by FAA regulations. However, the Navy’s 2021 environmental work considered towers as high as 350 feet. The Manchester-Edgemoor team is now working with the city’s Development Services Department in anticipation of publishing a Notice of Preparation within the first three months of 2025. The release will mark the official start of the environmental review process, as mandated by California’s Environmental Quality Act. The timeline for the environmental review process has not been established, the development team spokesperson said. Meanwhile, the Navy said it will evaluate the team’s project details against the 2021 draft environmental impact statement and update the analysis as needed. The agency said, through a spokesperson, that it will then determine how to move forward with public involvement before finalizing the impact statement.