Navarra Family, Lankford & Associates, Portman Holdings and Phelps Development Partner in 3 Million-Square-Foot Mixed-Used Project

By Gabriel Circiog, Associate Editor

San Diego’s biggest downtown development since Petco Park could become a reality as a new development team prepares to announce an ambitious plan. Signon San Diego reports that Jerry Navarra, chairman of Jerome’s Furniture, has chosen a team led by Rob Lankford of Lankford & Associates to create a plan that could lead to nearly 3 million square feet of new residences, shops, hotels and office buildings. Navarra said that the scope of the project is to enhance the social, cultural and economic vitality of East Village. The Navarra family has been part of East Village since 1954 and the project is meant to be one of their legacies, according to Navarra.

The property encompasses 254,121 square feet over five city blocks bounded by Broadway and F, 14th, 15th and 16th streets. Currently the Navarra buildings are leased to more than 20 tenants on short-term leases.

Lankford has previously worked on well-known projects such as the Hall of Justice on Broadway in 1995 and currently is involved in the Lane Field hotel development. The Lankford team includes Portman Holdings, an Atlanta-based hotel development company that has co-developed the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel. The general contractor of the team is Phelps Development, a Hensel Phelps Construction Co. subsidiary.

The basic zoning permits between 889,424 and 1.5 million square feet on the Navarra blocks, and with the additional bonuses it could reach 2.9 million square feet.

The Navarra family will bring their properties to the project as their share of the deal, while the development team and the builders of individual projects will finance their own improvements.