San Diego's Front Porch

It was a pleasure to hear Port Commissioner Rafael Castellanos provide an overview of the Port of San Diego’s mission, projects and contributions to our community.

Established in 1962, the Port of San Diego manages San Diego Bay and its 34 miles of beautiful, natural waterfront, implementing the Tidelands Trust Doctrine.   For over fifty years, the Port's five member cities - Chula Vista, Coronado, Imperial Beach, National City and San Diego - have worked together to develop and promote commerce, navigation, recreation and fisheries on and around San Diego Bay.

The Port’s overall economic impact on our community is over $10 billion.  And through a multiplier effect, about 70,000 jobs in San Diego County (approximately one in 30) are generated by the Port.

Fun Facts about our Port:

·     Only full-service shipyard on the west coast

·     Gateway for every banana eaten west of the Rockies

·     Receive 500,000 cars annually 

Topic initiatives for the Port include The Brigantine’s Portside Pier(1360 North Harbor Drive) along the North Embarcadero, which is under construction and will offer a variety dining options– from fresh seafood and authentic Mexican, to pub fare, coffee and gelato – and free public access to enjoy a front-row view of San Diego Bay! 

Chula Vista BayfrontResort Hotel and Conference Center project was recently approved, and will be operated by Gaylord Hotels, the large convention hotel brand of Marriott International.  It will include up to 1,600 hotel rooms, 400,000 square feet of convention and meeting space and retail and resort-level amenities.  The project will be constructed west of Marina Parkway between H and G Streets, and could get underway in mid-2020.  The project cost is estimated at $1.13 billion and is expected to generate approximately $1.3 billion as well as ~10,000 jobs during the construction period, and once built, another $475 million is anticipated to be generated per year with 1,500 permanent jobs created.

Rafael also stated that the Port is involved in the redevelopment of Seaport Village (see our May Blogfor a summary of the presentation Gafcon made to FOD) as well as the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan.  

About Rafael Castellanos:

He has been on the Board of Port Commissioners since April 15, 2013 and is the chair of the Port's Environmental Advisory Committee.  Rafael is also a partner with the law firm Solomon Minton Cardinal Doyle & Smith LLP in San Diego, where he specializes in commercial real estate and business transactional law.  Rafael graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree and he earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of Chicago Law School as a Cornerstone Scholar.