New Look Proposed for UTC
$100 Million Center Expansion
Includes Residences
BY LEE ZION
Staff Writer
A new look proposed for a major San Diego shopping mall is part of a national trend to bring something new to the shopping experience , living quarters.
Westfield America, Inc., announced a new look for Westfield Shoppingtown UTC on Dec. 18. The mall would become a “mixed-use” project, combining commercial and residential development along with enhanced mass transit.
“The new UTC will be a self-sufficient community of unequalled beauty and charm where San Diegans can live, work, play (and) shop,” said Catharine C. Dickey, a spokeswoman for Westfield. “(This) will be exciting, vibrant and a true town center.”
The proposal was designed to meet what Dickey called the changing needs of the community. The project would meet both the local and national objectives of “smart growth,” she said.
Dickey added that she hopes the town center will become a model for future growth in San Diego, as well as for future development throughout the nation.
The $100 million project would almost double the amount of commercial and retail space, from 1 million to 1.8 million square feet. It would also add 500 residential units to the new multi-story center expansion, she said.
The new space would be built on top of current open parking. At the same time, new parking garages would be built, almost doubling the number of parking spaces from 4,540 to 8,640.
The plan also calls for a new transit center and accommodation for a future light rail station and other projects, Dickey said.
The project will be built in several stages, with the earliest phase including the housing units, as well as new specialty shops, restaurants and a multiscreen movie theater. This could begin as early as 2003 and be completed in 2005, Dickey said.
David Hokanson, vice president of development for Westfield, conceded that light rail would not be coming to UTC until at least 2015. It might discourage use of public transit by UTC residents, exacerbating rather than alleviating traffic congestion in the area.
However, he is already in discussion with local officials about alternatives. One concept would be a local shuttle to take people from outlying areas to the shopping center, Hokanson said.
As Hokanson understands it, about half of the workers who live near UTC work either in the University City area or in Sorrento Valley. Improved transit to move people between those destinations would ease traffic congestion, he said.
City development project manager Michael Westlake said city staff members had not yet looked at the plans. A traffic impact study would probably be required to determine the effect the plan would have on area congestion, he said.
Christine Rychel, senior transportation planner for the Metropolitan Transit District Board, praised the UTC plan.
“The mixed-use stuff being proposed at UTC is the type of land use that we’re really looking forward to in the area,” she said. “That type of mixed use is one of the key elements to supporting transit.”
The MTDB is looking forward to getting its first peek at the UTC proposal in the coming months. The project would dovetail well with the MTDB’s “Transit First” vision, which would create elaborate mass transit links for several areas throughout San Diego, including UTC, Rychel said.
Rychel said the MTDB is currently evaluating all its options. Instead of conventional light rail, similar to the system in Mission Valley, UTC could get a rubber-tired “flex trolley” capable of traveling both on city streets and on dedicated paths.
