Civic San Diego (CivicSD) recently hosted a bus tour where people weren’t necessarily asked to see what was there—but rather, what could be there. The aim was to showcase parts of the city where new development has the potential to significantly benefit the most underserved communities in San Diego.
Jackie Robinson Family YMCA
The Nov. 30 bus tour covered the San Diego Promise Zone—a 6.4 square-mile stretch that spans East Village and Barrio Logan east to Encanto and Emerald Hills—which is home to more than 77,000 residents facing a 15 percent unemployment rate and 39 percent poverty concentration, the highest in the city.
The San Diego Promise Zone earned its federal designation in June 2016 for a 10-year term. The area is one of 22 federally designated Promise Zones and one of only four in the state. This designation demonstrates the federal government’s commitment to working with CivicSD and other local leaders to boost job growth, increase educational opportunities, reduce crime and leverage private investments to improve quality of life.
“In collaboration with our local San Diego Promise Zone partners, we see a lot of potential to improve quality of life through the right kind of development, including affordable housing, for example,” said Gustavo Bidart, CivicSD Economic and Community Development Manager. “We are also focused on growth that will create jobs and spur more economic activity.”
San Diego Promise Zone bus tour partners included the City of San Diego, HUD, Wells Fargo, Woodbury University, BAME Community Development Corporation, Southeastern Diamond Business Improvement District, Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation and Trestle Development. More than 120 stakeholders participated in the bus tour, including civic leaders, developers and investors. Along the way, they were shown some recent examples of projects within the Promise Zone that were designed to better serve the surrounding community —though the real focus on envisioning projects that could further that mission.
“Sometimes the best way to see the full potential is to physically see these areas,” explained Bidart. “We are very encouraged by the turnout we saw. It was a great opportunity to connect all the experts who have the vision, knowledge and experience to bring the right kind of growth and investment to these communities. We’re confident this tour will prove to be a starting point for some great projects down the road.”
For more information about the Promise Zone, please visit https://www.sandiego.gov/economic-development/sdpromisezone.
Last modified: February 3, 2021