Brown Field became an airport in 1919, just 16 years after the Wright Brothers flew their first plane, and the airport has grown since then, but never as rapidly as it is now.
On Monday, the city of San Diego is set to break ground on its brownfield airport redevelopment project.
“This is the beginning of a new era of aviation for San Diego,” said San Diego Airports Authority Director Jorge Rubio. “We want to see the region thrive and have sustainable jobs for everyone.”
Rubio is Redevelopment It is expected to bring 2,500 jobs and $1.5 billion to the region over the next 50 years.
The four-phase development will build a new terminal on brownfield land, as well as hotels, restaurants, industrial buildings, office space and new hangars. The development is expected to spur growth in Otay Mesa, where roughly $68 billion in transactions occur annually.
“I think there’s going to be a lot of business here,” Rubio said. “I think in 20 years, the brownfield site won’t be recognizable the way it is now.”
Phase one is already under construction near the brownfield air traffic control tower.
Several tenants were evicted from the 880-acre site last month after the city of San Diego announced they had subleased space from the site’s primary tenant in an area slated for redevelopment as part of Phase II.
Rubio said the first new buildings on the 331-acre redevelopment site could open as soon as next year. The entire project is expected to take about 20 years.
