Houston-based real estate firm Hines, working in partnership with Bethesda, Maryland-based investor USAA Real Estate, has broken ground on the first phase of construction at Riverwalk San Diego, a 200-acre transit-oriented development set to add thousands of rental units and extensive retail and office space to San Diego’s western Mission Valley neighborhood.
Phase one will include 930 units for rent — less than one fourth of the total planned for the site — spread across five buildings at Friars Road, along the north end of the property. It will also add 75,000 square feet of retail and a central green space further south.
The residential buildings will offer a variety of unit sizes, ranging from studio apartments to townhomes, while the retail component will have a grocery store as an anchor alongside restaurants, bars and fitness studios.
The full development will take the place of the existing Riverwalk Golf Course, which will remain open through the first phase of construction. Once all phases are complete, the development will include:
- 4,300 units for rent, with 10% set aside as income-qualified affordable housing.
- 152,000 square feet of retail space.
- 1 million square feet of office space.
- Road improvements, including intelligent traffic signals and improved flood capacity.
- 100 acres of parks and open space, including a 60-acre regional park around the San Diego River.
The site will also soon accommodate a new stop on the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System’s Green Line trolley, which will align with the development’s town square. Nearly 100 acres of space will be maintained as open space and a regional park, and Hines has committed to restoring the portion of the San Diego River that runs through the development.
“We brought together development, design, building and environmental experts, as well as local leaders to craft the Riverwalk vision,” said Eric Hepfer, managing director at Hines and head of the Riverwalk San Diego development project, in a press release. “Hines is proud to be a part of bringing the community’s vision to life in Mission Valley.
