Mission Bay Park is one of San Diego’s most cherished public assets, with beautiful views and outdoor activities that attract residents and visitors all year round. And within this City-owned park space, there are a few properties that have the potential to bring far more value to the people of San Diego. 

That’s why the City of San Diego is looking to begin a formal process to reimagine three underused areas within the park: Marina Village, Sportsmen’s Seafood and Dana Landing. These sites include older conference and retail facilities, restaurants, boat marinas and parking spaces – and in many cases, these have not been updated or improved in decades. 

While no specific project is being proposed at this time, the City is looking to reimagine the future of these unique properties and transform them into more dynamic, publicly beneficial space.  

“These city-owned properties are hidden gems in Mission Bay that have not reached their full potential,” said Mayor Todd Gloria. “We want to make sure they serve the public in the best possible way, and today’s action before the City Council is the first step to see what opportunities exist to redevelop and activate these properties into something San Diegans can be proud of.”  

Today, the City Council will consider the important first step of declaring these three properties – approximately 28 acres – as “surplus land” under state law. This is a procedural requirement under the California Surplus Land Act.

While the City of San Diego remains strongly committed to addressing the region’s housing needs and prioritizes affordable housing whenever feasible, in the case of these properties, a number of land-use complexities and longstanding policy objectives make affordable housing development in these locations highly unlikely.  

While the City is required under the state’s Surplus Land Act to make these properties available to affordable housing developers as part of the process, these sites are governed by the Mission Bay Park Master Plan and the Parks Master Plan. Both plans emphasize recreation, open space and public access – and do not currently designate nor contemplate these locations for residential uses. As a result, redevelopment opportunities would be guided by these existing policies, making affordable housing difficult to accomplish at these sites.  

Marina Village was dedicated as a public park in 1962 and is currently under a lease that expires in April 2027. The other two properties are currently leased in holdover status, which means the leases have expired and the leaseholder is under an agreement to continue operations while the City takes the necessary steps to seek new lease proposals. 

Ultimately, following the City Council’s vote on the surplus land declaration on Tuesday, July 29, the City intends to issue a notice of availability for the long-term lease of these three properties. Once the notice of availability is issued and if the City receives interest from developers, as per the Surplus Land Act, it will review any interest received and then bring the future qualified proposals before the City Council for consideration, allowing for transparency and public input. 

To learn more about leasing City-owned property, or to view a map of City-owned land, visit the Economic Development Department’s webpage.