Port of San Diego Commissioner Ann Moore provided Chula Vista City Council with an update of the Chula Vista Bayfront project on April 23.
Moore said the project has its own brand logo now that will be used on all signs and materials used for the Chula Vista Bayfront.
“The brand is designed to celebrate the region. You can see a series of people with outstretched arms in rays celebrating the community and the culture of the Chula Vista Bayfront. The curved lines below the sun symbolize the waves and mountain landscapes in the wings of a seabird. I think that it is the perfect combination of the city of Chula Vista and the Port’s logo. I think it is really beautiful and we are the only ones that have our own logo,” she said.
Moore said the construction of the Gaylord Pacific Resort and Convention Center is still on schedule and will meet its goal of a summer 2025 grand opening.
“Every time I see this, I cannot help but think back to 2012, when the California Coastal Commission approved the Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan. It took us about a decade of planning to even get to that place, and over 100 Port meetings. I do not think anyone, except Chula Vista, ever thought that this would happen. It is very exciting because here we are really transforming the South Bay region,” she said.
Moore said so far, the hotel has been poured to the 21st floor with currently 1,000 workers on site daily and have worked over one million safe hours. Construction of the kid’s pool has begun, and the atrium will be completed by July, with the tower being fully enclosed by August. Final roof enclosures will be completed in October.
“It is really hard to believe,” she said. “Just a few years ago it was just a twinkle in our eyes and now it is becoming reality.”
The buildings behind the resort are the convention center that will have four ballrooms, three levels of meeting space, and two outdoor meeting and event lawns, said Moore. And on the far-left side is the parking garage.
“When it opens, Gaylord Pacific Resort and Convention Center, the hotel will have 1,600 rooms, multiple restaurants, an incredibly large sports bar, the biggest sports bar in the Gaylord brand,” she said. “A resort style pool, and there will be community passes available so the community can come and enjoy it for a day and float along the river. Because Gaylord is a nationally recognized hotel brand, this project is expected to attract visitors throughout the state, the country, and possibly internationally.”
Moore said Sweetwater Park, construction has begun with an expected completion date in September, with crews preparing to install walkways and structures.
“It is going to be unlike parks we have in the bayfront because it is going to be more of a passive park where people can take time to walk through and enjoy the quiet, look at the surrounding wildlife, and the preserve around it. There will be little mounds of grass and dunes for kids to play on. It is going to be quite an amazing park,” she said.
Moore said one of the structures in the park, the oculus will track the sun’s path and viewers will be able to tell the time and the season by the arc’s image on the ground. Artist Roberto Salas was commissioned to create public art for Sweetwater Park. His concept, “Rigors of Life” was selected for the scenic overlook and will be installed right before the park’s grand opening.
“We are near completion of the park and will be scheduling a Native American artifact reburial,” she said, adding that these artifacts have been found on site during construction of the project.
Council member Carolina Chavez said this project will be a “life changing achievement” for the city.
“The revenue that it will create, and the jobs we will be creating, this is something that is going to elevate Chula Vista to another whole level,” she said.
Mayor John McCann said Moore has been with this project since 2002 when the project was master planned.
“You were always there to make things work,” he said. “There are so many benefits that are going to help Chula Vista. We have three times more walking and hiking trails, we are giving more public access than has ever been available on our bayfront, Sweetwater Park. We will be redoing the marina as well, we are looking to have a ferry come here…and all the jobs and great things that are happening.”
