Those of us who live near the City of Poway Town Center have experienced and continue to see a development project that has languished for over five years and now clearly can be defined as blight.
It is a “black hole” that is anchored in the center of the city near the intersection of Poway and Community roads, one block from City Hall. The project is adjacent to the Poway shopping center plaza, a Section 8 apartment complex and the Poway Bernardo Mortuary.
Those of us who live in central Poway have this visual blight, which consists of a partially constructed vacant multistory building and an unfinished tiered underground parking structure. This incomplete project was approved by the City Council in 2018 as a mixed-use development project.
It sits on a one-and-a-half-acre infill site and was originally permitted for 53 residential units, a 40,000-square-foot commercial space, a 20,025-square-foot fitness center and a two-tiered underground parking structure.
Over the last five years it has transitioned through three different developers and multiple permit amendments. The current and final amended project is a significantly scaled-down project. It would take someone with a bachelor’s degree in city and urban planning to read the permit amendments and comprehend what the final project will consist of if and when it is completed.
Those of us who live in or near the Town Center district are aware the Poway Road Specific Plan was approved with City Council commitment that high-density development would be well planned and would consist of “efficient high-density development.”
A blighted development project that has not been completed and has remained vacant and unfinished for five years is not keeping with the Specific Plan. This project is a blemish on central Poway. The City Council has not implemented solutions to complete this unfinished project.
Further, other development projects in the same corridor have as a matter of practice during their construction phases posted signage on their respective construction fencing, advertising what the project consists of and when it is estimated to be completed. The “black hole” has no such signage on its construction fencing and the general public has no idea what this project consists of or when it will be completed.
Direct attempts and meetings to obtain information from previous and current city representatives have resulted in finger-pointing at the developer. Two developers have already walked away from this project and the third and current developer is under contract with a local general contractor.
The City Council approved, conditioned and permitted this project. I have to think that if this project was located in the “Farm” development area and stood half developed and vacant for over five years there would be a different level of urgency by the council to finding a solution to correct this unsightly development project.
The council has failed those of us who live in and near the Poway Town Center corridor. Stop blaming the developer and get this failed project completed.
Locke is a 22-year U.S. Marine Corp veteran and a longtime Poway resident.