Officials from the Port of San Diego and the city of Chula Vista gathered at Bayside Park on June 2 to announce securing $275 million in public bond funding for construction on the Chula Vista Bayfront, enabling the Gaylord Pacific Resort and Convention project to break ground. The Chula Vista Bayfront Facilities Financing Authority, of which the Port of San Diego and the City of Chula Vista are the sole members, and developer RIDA Chula Vista, LLC, closed escrow in late May on their respective financings. The total estimated costs to construct the resort hotel, parking, convention center and associated improvements is $1.35 billion.
“Many years of effort have brought us to this point, and I am overjoyed that we have secured funding for the Chula Vista Bayfront,” Chula Vista Mayor Mary Salas said in a statement. “This is the culmination of decades of commitment and leadership by many people in our community and we will all celebrate this victory together.”
Port of San Diego Chairman Dan Malcolm called it a “momentous day” for Chula Vista, the San Diego region, and the state.
“For years, we have been preparing to transform the bayfront into a vibrant destination with better coastal access and economic development,” said Malcolm. “Everything we have worked toward is happening now as we consummate the largest public-private-partnership the Port has ever undertaken.”
