Stan Kroenke, the owner of the LA Rams and Denver Nuggets, is now the lead investor in the Midway Rising redevelopment project.
"It is so compelling, and it is such an exciting investment opportunity; that one of the most successful and deep-pocketed real estate investors has chosen San Diego to put his investment dollars," said Jim Andersen, the chief development officer at Chelsea Investment Corporation.
The Chelsea Investment Corporation is the partner company in charge of the affordable housing component.
The project is slated to add a 16,000-seat arena on the 50-acre property — replacing the historic Pechanga Arena in the Midway District. It will also add 250,000 square feet of retail space, a 200-room hotel, a 20-acre plaza and a park — plus 4,200 housing units. Nearly half of the housing will be affordable, seniors get 15% of the units, 10% for veterans, and another 10% reserved for the unsheltered.
"Two thousand affordable-housing units is the single largest affordable housing project in the history of California. (It's) never been done. Are we going to do it? You bet," Andersen said.
Anderson said Kroenke is the perfect fit for the team they assembled because he’s not just a person with the capital, but he also follows through with accomplishments like SoFi Stadium.
That project — built on the old Hollywood Park property in Inglewood — is also adding homes and retail around the stadium. Some of them are already complete and ready to move into. It's the one of the largest mixed-use real estate development projects in the country.
"He made a strategic investment in the Los Angeles Rams to move them from Missouri to Los Angeles, and was able to do what nobody had been able to do for decades, which is get a brand new stadium. And it's not just a brand new stadium, it's the state-of-the-art best stadium probably in the world," Anderson said. "And then he's building Hollywood Park all around it, with thousands of homes and offices and a retail entertainment district. That takes an individual that is willing to push — and push hard to achieve that result, not a big corporation with a giant board of directors that's going to look at every nickel."
Rumors are already swirling about what this will mean for San Diego sports. But Andersen said while this is not the venue for an NFL team, and they weren't in talks with any franchise, who knows what the future holds.
"Will another professional team come to San Diego? I mean, you probably know as much as I do. However, will it happen? I think it would be pretty awesome because San Diego deserves it, and I think we have an amazing sports market, so I hope so," he said.
He says the backing of such a large investor willing to pour money into Midway Rising makes what is now a vision one step closer to reality.
"We are going to have a deep-pocketed balance sheet to see us from today all the way through the final home being developed and rented," Andersen said. "So we couldn't be more thrilled by the opportunity of having someone of the Kroenke group's stature being shoulder to shoulder partners with this all along the way and it simply just really gives the project a turbo boost in terms of national prominence and attention, which is frankly what we're going to need to get through the next couple of years."
Andersen said it's a dream project for a world-class city that is without a world-class venue. And San Diegans have been missing out because today's entertainment requires a large, modern facility.
"We don't have a world-class indoor arena. We just don't have one, and those acts require acoustics and technology because the big nature of those acts, something we don't have," he said. "We're San Diego! Are you kidding me? We've got to be able to put together the resources to have a show like that or many many shows like that."
He said this isn't just an arena, it will have something for everyone.
"The city absolutely deserves that kind of asset and resource, and the housing that will produce here in the mix of affordability is something the city desperately needs. It's sure going to make that area a whole lot prettier and our intention is to build something pretty special."
The cost for the Midway Rising project is expected to be disclosed next month.
