Two decades ago the Mercado project was viewed as the foundation of revitalization development in Barrio Logan, a low-income, predominantly Latino community located under the Coronado Bay Bridge along the San Diego Bay.

As San Diego has grown and development boomed in the early 2000’s, this land became very inticing to developers and investors and subsequently ended up tied up in a lawsuit.  On account of this lawsuite, a 6.8-acre parcel of land in Barrio Logan still sits vacant,  unused and full of weeds.

Barrio Logan…A Changing Community

City redevelopment officials say they have overcome a major hurdle that has been a longterm obsticle regarding progress on the long-promised commercial and retail development.

 Construction on the proposed project could begin as early as next year.

A state court of appeals effectively ended the litigation in December, finalizing a 2007 decision that sent the land from the private developer, Sam Marasco, back to the city of San Diego.  Sam Marasco is no longer the developer on the project and has been replaced by Shea Properties.

Moving Ahead for Barrio Logan

The success of the project moving forward highly depends on securing financial commitments from potential investors and long-term tenants.  The city has already secured a letter of intent from Gonzalez Northgate Markets, but a letter of intent is just the beginning of a conversation so there is a long road ahead for this project to come full circle.

The developer’s plans for the project include 305,000 square feet of building space that would feature a retail shopping center, 95 affordable apartments, a parking structure, and a major Latino-themed grocery store.

Redevelopment officials say if everything falls into place, construction of the Mercado could begin as early as next year and finish in 2012.

The city must meet its June timeline in order to apply for critical tax credits. If it does not, Chavez said, the schedule may be pushed back nine months until it is re-eligible to apply.  This would be a good jumpstart for the redeveopment of the Barrio Logan area and we would see a following of more restaurants, housing projects and retail shops to follow.