\u201cThis kicks off the five blocks for a real plan that has real legs,\u201d Stephen Cushman, who is Gloria\u2019s real estate consultant said, told the Union-Tribune.<\/p>\n
The negotiation contract with the community college district, he said, could be ready for council consideration in 90 days and is expected to give the parties between six months and two years to finalize a development deal.<\/p>\n
The city\u2019s relationship with the district, forged over a few recent working lunches, marks a potential turning point for the forlorn Civic Center blocks, with redevelopment efforts so far stymied by market forces and the city\u2019s budget crisis. It also presents the community college district, flush with bond money, with a way to elevate its esteemed, 1,300-piece Mesa College World Art Collection<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cMesa College, over the last 50 years, has been curating one of the largest collections of African and now also Southeast Asian art \u2026 but this collection, unfortunately, is housed in the center of campus, in our library building, where very few people outside of Mesa College students get to experience it,\u201d Gregory Smith, the community college district\u2019s chancellor, told the Union-Tribune. \u201cThis would be an ideal way to bring the collection out into the community.\u201d<\/p>\n The idea, which has been taking shape without the city\u2019s involvement for more than a year, centers around creating a 20,000-square-foot exhibition gallery as the focal point of a $200 million, 50,000-square-foot facility. The building, as currently envisioned, would also include classrooms for visiting faculty and studies, storage space, an auditorium for lectures and collection-related performances, and a retail and cafe venue. The facility may also be the permanent home of Mesa College\u2019s museum studies program, Smith said.<\/p>\n The district is also in the early stages of thinking about erecting residential units alongside the arts-and-education building on the Golden Hall site, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re opening our first affordable student housing development at City College in the fall of 2028. That will be at least 800 beds,\u201d Smith said. \u201cSo if we could do something similar, or ideally even at a larger scale (at the Golden Hall site), that would be excellent.\u201d<\/p>\n Built in 1964, Golden Hall served as a convention, event and concert venue before more recently being used as a homeless shelter. The aging facility takes up roughly one block of San Diego\u2019s Civic Center complex,<\/a> bounded by A Street and C Street to the north and south, and First Avenue and Third Avenue to the east and west.<\/p>\n Golden Hall shares the municipal quad with the City Administration Building (aka City Hall), the Civic Center Plaza office tower, the Evan V. Jones Parkade parking garage and the Civic Theatre. The city\u2019s real estate holdings extend across the street to a fifth block at 1222 First Ave., which is home to the City Operations Building (or COB).<\/p>\n In May 2023, San Diego put the Civic Center complex on the market, following the requirements spelled out in California\u2019s updated Surplus Land Act, as part of Gloria\u2019s plan to lease or sell the real estate to fund the construction or purchase of a brand-new City Hall. The solicitation failed to attract developer interest, likely because the state housing law requires developers to set aide 25% of proposed residential units for low-income families. Gloria intended to put the assets back on the market, but ultimately tabled the two-part plan<\/a>, called the Civic Center Revitalization plan, in December 2024 because of a substantial structural budget deficit.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SUT-L-MESACOLLEGE-ARTCOLLECTION-01.jpg\")
The Mesa College World Art Collection includes more than 1,300 pieces from Africa, the Pacific Islands, Mesoamerica and the continent of Asia. (Mesa College)<\/p>\n