As you may have read in the Pulitzer Prize-winning San Diego Union-Tribune (the voiceofsandiego.org is sure to follow in getting one), the Port and the city of Chula Vista recently approved an agreement that will require $308 million in public financing for a new privately-owned hotel and convention center in the Chula Vista bayfront area.
What the article doesn’t mention is the impact of this project on the city of San Diego. While few would dispute the regional advantages of the project, the city needs to watch out for its own bacon. Studies have clearly shown that there will be a decrease in TOT collections and that our world-class convention center will be negatively impacted. And the clincher? The city of San Diego will pay for a portion of the project. You see, port leaseholds located in the city of San Diego generate over 80 percent of the Port’s total revenues.
Stay tuned …
– FRED SAINZ