Community Renewal Good Stories - San Diego

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Breathing New Life Into Old Neighborhoods

San Diego, California, RC

"It's a huge success in our community," said Karen Whitehead of Golden Hill when asked about a building in her community that was gutted and restored with the help of CRD allocations. The building now houses Krakatoa, a trendy neighborhood coffee house. She continued by saying, "The Krakatoa Coffee House is the latest example of property owners making investments in their properties here in Golden Hill to make the area more attractive and to create a more family feeling in the neighborhood." The owner-developer of the property applied for and received a $113,700 CRD allocation for the coffeehouse, which helped create six jobs, three of which are held by RC residents.

In January 2002 HUD granted an RC designation to an area of San Diego that had been suffering from high poverty, unemployment, crime, and other problems. Businesses in the San Diego RC are eligible to apply for a share of $12 million in CRD allocations each year through 2009.

The RC status has helped spur investment. The renovation of the Pepitone building is a good example. This historically significant building in the downtown Gaslamp Quarter was dilapidated and in need of extensive renovation in order to be used again. A $4.9 million CRD allocation resulted in a beautifully rehabilitated structure in older downtown San Diego that will create 100 jobs, about 50 of which will go to RC residents. "This rehabilitation not only substantially restores a historic building, it also adds critical housing, restaurant, and office spaces to a revitalizing downtown arena," said Jim Schneider, spokesman for the project.

Another Gaslamp Quarter project got underway with the help of a sizeable CRD allocation. Borders Books and Music Store constructed a large store on a long-vacant corner in the Gaslamp Quarter. The company invested $7.8 million in the project, which created 350 full-time and part-time jobs, about 280 of which are for RC residents. "I used to work in a fast food restaurant without benefits. Now I work at Borders, make more than minimum wage and have health benefits for me and my family," said Betty Washington, a Borders Books and Music Store employee.

For more information on the programs of the San Diego RC, please contact Community Development Coordinator, Lydia Moreno at (619) 236-6320. 

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