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Upgrades That Truly Help Downtown and the Gaslamp

Isaac Green
Guerrero
Humanities
January 28, 2016

Isaac Green
Guerrero

Humanities
January 28, 2016
Upgrades That Truly Help Downtown and the Gaslamp
Without Downtown and East Village San Diego would be a small town with beaches and
surfing because East Village is arguably the most value property of underdeveloped land in San
Diego (Downtown has bright future with or without Chargers, Steward) Downtown and the
Gas Lamp Quarter has been named the ideal district surrounded by everything a town needs and
East Village presents a tremendous opportunity for mixed housing, education, and offices. The
land in the area is prepared to help both the people of the businesses and the families that are in
the area. The money allocated to improvements of the area is truly helping to attract tourism in
the area, although I pose the question is it helping the income of the city. Are the upgrades that
San Diego has done to Downtown and the Gaslamp truly beneficial?

In 1867 Alonzo Horton, 54, arrives in San Diego from San Francisco. After looking over
Old Town, he decides the best place for the city to develop is down by the waterfront.
Determined to build a new downtown on the site of Davis Two years later, he pays $4,000 for
a 160-acre parcel needed to sew up the section(Gaslamps History). Showing the development
of how Downtown and the Gaslamp came to be. In 1869 Alonzo decides to put more of an
investment into the town Horton spends about $50,000 to build a Wharf at the end of 5th
Avenue, making this and adjacent streets the backbone of this fast-developing city. On March 24,
Horton sells $5,500 worth of commercial and residential lots in one day. His new town begins to
boom (Gaslamps History). This making San Diego a profit like no other continuing to rent out
the little lots to other companies and restaurants. San Diegos booming prosperity attracts

unscrupulous characters seeking to take advantage of the citys growth. (Gaslamps History). In
1980 The Gaslamp Quarter is listed on the National Registrar of Historic Places. (Gaslamps
History) this lead to the true development of what the town is today, creating a culture for people
to go out into this area and do as they pleased.

The Gaslamp, an area in downtown that is filled with people throughout the day and the
night. The area has had remodeling done on every corner of every street, the companies
themselves had decided to be located in such a place because they all know that tourist will be
attracted to the newer area. This meaning that the money going into the area is truly making the
income level jump up with the all the new clientele. Throughout Gaslamp there is anything and
everything, whether it is a restaurant, a company, or a bar. If youre looking for it you can find it
there, the locals are never bored finding things to do is never the hard part. The Gaslamp
Quarter has successfully transformed into a premier shopping, dining, and entertainment
neighborhood. With over 200 restaurants, bars, nightclubs and lounges, boutiques, art galleries,
and shops to peruse, the Gaslamp Quarter has established itself both as the playground of hip,
eclectic San Diegans and as an elite urban destination. (Gaslamps History)

The Vibe or feel of Downtown and East Village are the biggest reasons that tourist are
attracted to the area. K.C. Alfred calls it A vibrant urban paradise. A place welcoming to all
different types of genders or ethnicities ready to help entertain all throughout the day. After dark

the area transforms into a sophisticated playground for adults ( Alfred) the town stays crawling
with people throughout the day
and night making sure that the town is making money at all times. On the other hand it is also a
place that families can enjoy a true California Urban Safari in San Diego Downtown(Alfred).
Allowing families to visit different stores, museums, or even a baseball game. Due to all the local
fun the people visiting the area have decided to stay Compared to the rest of the city of San
Diego, Downtowns population growth from 2000 to present represents about 13% of the total
growth (about 21,000 of 160,000) (Rossenfelid, Why Firms Hesitate To Embrace Downtown
SD)

Downtown has a bright future with or without Chargers(Steward) . Even though the
city is losing one of the biggest money makers with such a huge franchise is leaving that brought
in millions and millions of fans According to the study, 55-percent of adults in the San Diego
market consumed a Chargers game in some capacity (Chargers Fan Base Lagging Behind Other
NFL Cities, Togerson). The city is going to have to find another way to bring in all the money
that the other franchise has brought in. The city found the next best place that the money is being
spent, Downtown and East Village. Downtown has been named the Ideal district (Steward)
surrounded by everything a city needs. Whether it's the education, sports, or the plenty of
businesses in the area. .Today, Downtown San Diego is a diverse, vibrant community with
nearly 35,000 residents, 75,000 workers, and millions of year-round visitors. Its an urban core
that serves as a regional asset and economic engine to Greater San Diego. Many live, work, play,
learn, shop, and dine here.(Rossenfelid, Why Firms Hesitate To Embrace Downtown SD)

Downtown San Diego is the place to be whether is in day or night, between the workers,
locals, and party animals the town never sleeps. Such as the Convention Center the home of
comic con, auto shows, or vidcom. All these events tourist travel from everywhere to come visit
helping the income of the town. So it is only right that the city puts some of the money back into
the place by giving it the upgrade it deserves. The Robert Green Co. and Fifth Avenue Landing
LLChave teamed up on a proposal to develop 5th Avenue Landing, a world-class Convention
Center(World-Class Convention Center Project Proposed for San Diego, Loria). They call
downtown the idea district (Steward) reason being it is home for small local business and local
business and give the opportunity for both to interact with each other. Between the local and big
companies in East Village and Downtown they were named arguably the most value property
of underdeveloped land in San Diego(Steward) stated in January of 2016. This all shows the
money being spent and the opportunity to make money in the area.

The money that is being spent on all the new upgrades is truly bring in more money.
Marketing prices for business starts at 1.4 billion to make a big beautiful building to help bring
the people in the area. San Diego has long been car centric city (San Diegos Center Gets the
Big City Treatment, Jackson). This is saying downtown is filled with traffic really not helping the
planet with all the fuses and oil going into the ground and air. So the city is both trying to help
with the traffic and help the environment by giving the people the utilities it may need, there are
to-go bikes on every other corner so the people in the area have the choices to take the easier and
environmentally friendly way. Also making more parking for the electrical cars to recharge its

battery showing that the city approves of their ways. Technology is a leading component of
growth and consumers continue to seek innovative and effective solutions to simplify their lives.
Accessible public transportation rank high for urban metropolis(Rossenfelid, Why Firms
Hesitate To Embrace Downtown SD)

Throughout all the information that was giving it all adds up to the fact that without
Downtown San Diego's and East Villages upgrades the city wouldn't be able to make as much
money as it is today. The tourist come to Downtown to see all the beauty there is in the town, all
the new upgrades truly drags in the tourist whether it's a restaurant, a bar, or local business. So,
in 2013, the Downtown San Diego Partnership led the effort to engage thousands of San Diegans
to identify the priorities and needs from Downtown residents, business owners, and community
stakeholders.(Rossenfelid, Why Firms Hesitate To Embrace Downtown SD). This making it
easier for the city to upgrade because the city wasnt actually going to pay for the upgrades the
companies were and it really made a huge jump in the cities profit because they were making
money off the upgrade but they didnt need to pay for it all.

Bibliography

1. Christie's Real Astate. "Great Locations: Luxury Lifestyles and Property

Offerings in San Diego, CA, USA." Christie's International Real Estate. Christie, 2015.
Web. 29 Jan. 2016 (http://www.christiesrealestate.com/eng/article/downtown-san-diegovibrant-urban-paradise)
2. Christie real estate (http://www.christiesrealestate.com/eng/article/downtown-sandiego-vibrant-urban-paradise)
3. Candace Jackson January 7, 2016
(www.wsj.com/articles/san-diego)

4. Togerson, Derek .. "Chargers Fan Base Lagging Behind Other NFL Cities."NBC 7 San
Diego. Derek Togerson, 5 Jan. 2015. Web. 29 Jan. 2016
(http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Chargers-Fan-Base-Lagging-Behind-Other-NFLCities-287571451.html#ixzz3yduxIwUp)
5. Downtown Has bright future with or without Chargers
Daniel Stewart JAnuary 7,2016
(https://ut.com/sandiegouniontribune)
6. Gaslamp Quarter
(http://gaslamp.org/history/)

7. K.C Alfred April 16, 2016

(www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016)
8. K.C Alfred April 14, 2015
(www.sandiego.org/discover/downtown.aspx)
9. World-class convention center project proposed for san diego
Keith Loria January 20,2016
(www.cpexecutive.com/post/world-class-development-propost-for-san-diego/)