Delayed by more than a year, downtown San Diego’s long-awaited East Village Green park, which has been under construction since the summer of 2022, will now cost $83.9 million to complete and is slated to open in August.
San Diego’s Economic Development & Intergovernmental Relations Committee gave the initial OK on Friday to amend the city’s contract with project consultant Civic San Diego and appropriate another $4.6 million to wrap up work on the 2-acre park.
The action forwards the item to the full City Council for approval.
The money, which will be taken from downtown parking and development fee funds, is primarily needed to cover increased costs associated with materials and construction delays. The funding will also allow for construction of an ornamental structure to enhance the park’s performance pavilion, as originally envisioned.
The committee approved the East Village Green item 3-0 as part of the consent agenda, meaning it was considered routine and grouped alongside other items for approval with minimal discussion. Councilmember Kent Lee was absent.
“The East Village residents have waited for a long time for this park. It’s been envisioned for nearly two decades. So today’s action represents one of the final steps to get this long-anticipated community space across the finish line,” said Councilmember Raul Campillo, who is the committee chair. “This amendment ensures we complete the construction and restore the performance pavilion to deliver a park that truly serves the families, seniors and residents across downtown. Importantly, this action does not use general fund dollars.”
Conceived between 2004 and 2006, during the downtown community plan update, East Village Green is meant to accommodate downtown San Diego’s booming population. The park will eventually encompass the 4 acres that take up one entire downtown block (or the west block) and the adjacent double block (or the east block) between 13th, F, 15th and G streets.
To start, the city is, however, only tackling half of the project — or around 2 acres.
The under-construction East Village Green park, as pictured on February 21, 2026 looking east from 13th Street toward the future playground. (Kristian Carreon / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The initial phase of East Village Green includes the entire west block and pieces of the east block. Amenities include an 8,500-square-foot children’s play area with a splash pad, an 11,200-square-foot event lawn alongside a performance pavilion designed for outdoor concerts, a paid parking garage with 175 spaces, two dog parks, outdoor games and a more pedestrian-friendly version of 14th Street that will be closed to car traffic on weekends.
The standout feature is the 14,200-square-foot, two-story recreation center. It is downtown’s first community center. The facility includes a gymnasium, demonstration kitchen, community room, city staff offices and public restrooms.
In May 2022, the City Council approved a much-inflated, phase-one budget of $79.6 million for East Village Green. Construction started in August 2022 and was expected to be completed in early 2025.
To date, $79.3 million has been appropriated for the project. Council members are now being asked to appropriate another $4.6 million to complete the first phase, which would increase the total amount appropriated to $83.9 million.
The new spending includes $3.6 million for direct project costs, $700,000 for contingency costs and $315,000 for administrative costs, Christina Bibler, director of the city’s Economic Development Department, told The San Diego Union-Tribune.
“The project incurred delays from additional and unknown conditions while excavating for the underground parking garage, unknown and unidentified utility conflicts, and material availability and deliveries due to tariffs,” Bibler said.
The additional time and money mean that a nice-to-have feature, scrapped back in 2022, is being reincorporated into the project. The city will spend $1.1 million to add a structural component over the performance plaza area, which is just north of the event lawn, that will allow for enhanced outdoor performances. A staff report prepared for the committee meeting describes the element as “an architectural backdrop with lighting and sound equipment for events, shows, ceremonies, and civic programming.”
A rendering of East Village Green’s performance pavilion, which is just north of the park’s event lawn. (City of San Diego)
Justine Murray with the Downtown San Diego Partnership described the feature as essential infrastructure that will protect the city’s investment.
“A properly equipped band shell provides the lighting, sound capabilities (and) architectural anchor necessary for consistent programming, community events and civic gatherings. Programming drives activation, activation drives safety and safety protects public investment,” Murray said during public comment. “Reinstating the pavilion ensures this space functions as a true civic gathering place, not just open space, but a destination that brings people together and supports downtown vibrancy as a whole.”
The updated budget still does not account for two once-planned cafe buildings — one west of the event lawn and another by the dog parks. Those were also stripped from the project in 2022 and remain out of reach.
“While additional funding was identified to address overall project needs, reintroducing the cafe buildings would require significant additional design and construction costs that exceed the available funding. Given those cost and complexity considerations, the cafe buildings were not added back into the project,” Bibler said. “However, the project does include the necessary infrastructure — such as utility connections — to allow for a future vendor or retail operation if funding and operational plans are identified.”
The hard cost to construct the project’s facilities is now $61.6 million. The $83.9-million price tag includes $6.8 million allocated for contingency costs, $6.1 million for design work, and $5.7 million for staff time.
Civic San Diego, the city’s former downtown planning agency, is being paid 5% of project costs, excluding staff time — or $3.7 million — to oversee work. The original contract, or what’s known as a compensation agreement, dates to January 2020 and included a five-year term. The contract needs to be amended for a third time to update the budget and extend the term.