Chula Vista Bayfront
A partnership between the Port of San Diego and City of Chula Vista, the redevelopment of the 535-acre Chula Vista Bayfront envisions a world-class destination in the South Bay – a unique place for people to live, work and play. It is designed to create new public parks and recreational adventures, improve the natural habitat, offer new dining and shopping options, provide a world-class hotel and convention center, and more – all for residents and coastal visitors to enjoy.
Gaylord Pacific Under Construction
The Gaylord Pacific Resort and Convention Center is anticipated to open in summer 2025. To the right is the latest aerial drone footage taken of the construction progress courtesy of Mortenson | McCarthy Joint Venture in partnership with RIDA Development and HKS Architecture.
See below for more details on this project, including road closures and park access information, as well as additional projects and plans for the Chula Vista Bayfront. If you wish to view older construction progress videos, click here.
Catalyst Project
In development by RIDA Chula Vista, LLC in collaboration with the Port and City of Chula Vista, the Gaylord Pacific Resort and Convention Center will be the centerpiece and the catalyst project of the Chula Vista Bayfront. It will include up to 1,600 hotel rooms, a convention center with four ballrooms, three levels of meeting space and two outdoor meeting and event lawns; public promenades and public amenities; and associated retail and resort-level amenities such as a pool with a lazy river, a spa, and more.
Gaylord Pacific Construction Closures
Several roads near and around the Gaylord Pacific construction site and Bayside Park are closed. The project impacts access to Bayside Park, the Bayshore Bikeway, the Sweetwater Bicycle Path & Promenade, and some bayfront businesses. See details below and check back here for updates. Click here for current road closures map. Directional and detour signs are posted.
- NEW! Sweetwater Bicycle Path & Promenade – a portion of the scenic loop that connects to the Bayshore Bikeway will be closed to cyclists and pedestrians from January 6, 2025 to early February 2025. For public safety around the construction area, the closure will start at Lagoon Drive and end at H Street. Directional detour signs will redirect path users to alternate routes.
- For public safety, public access to Bayside Park will be limited or unavailable at times. Plus, no event permits will be issued.
- Bayshore Bikeway – the path toward the shoreline will remain open; however, some of the streetside bike lanes will close and detours will direct cyclists to alternate new and existing bike lanes.
- G Street between Marina Parkway and Bayside Parkway is TEMPORARILY CLOSED. To access Bayside Park and Marine Group Boat Works, use H Street to Marina Parkway to Sandpiper Way, which will extend via a temporary access road. (Access to Bayside Park and Marine Group Boat Works is not available from Lagoon Drive.)
- Quay Avenue south of G Street; Sandpiper Way between Chula Vista Marina and G Street; and Bayside Parkway between Quay Avenue and Sandpiper Way are PERMANENTLY CLOSED.
- Marina Parkway between G Street and Lagoon Drive is TEMPORARILY CLOSED.
- Lagoon Drive between Bay Boulevard and Marina Parkway is TEMPORARILY CLOSED.
First Gaylord on the West Coast
Gaylord Hotels is the large convention hotel brand of Marriott International. When it opens, Gaylord Pacific will be Gaylord Hotels’ first West Coast location. With its nationally recognized brand, the Gaylord Pacific Resort and Convention Center is expected to spur other development on the 535-acre Chula Vista Bayfront.
Historic Groundbreaking
The Port of San Diego, City of Chula Vista, RIDA Chula Vista, LLC, Gaylord hotels, and hundreds of community supporters gathered together on July 27, 2022 to celebrate the start of construction on the Gaylord Resort & Convention Center project. Opening is anticipated in summer 2025.
Additional Projects
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Sweetwater ParkSweetwater Park
Construction on Sweetwater Park began in fall 2023, and completion is anticipated in early 2025.
This new park is envisioned as a natural habitat-oriented recreational open space to showcase the unique natural wildlife assets of San Diego Bay, encouraging passive activities to complement the adjacent Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife Refuge. The 21-acre park was designed with community input and will be enjoyed by residents and visitors for decades to come. Features will include meadows and specialty gardens; mounded grasslands; nature playgrounds; various seating and picnic areas; pedestrian and bicycle paths – some paved and others with softer surfaces; sand dunes; overlooks for bayfront viewing, incorporation of Kumeyaay signage, public art, public restroom facilities, 216 parking spaces, and more. The park will connect visitors with the bayfront’s ecology and provide environmental educational opportunities and family/child-oriented recreational exploration.
Sweetwater Park, along with the future Harbor Park, will account for more than half of the new park space planned for the Chula Vista Bayfront.
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Harbor ParkHarbor Park
Harbor Park will nearly double the size of the existing Bayside Park and will be developed in phases. Proposed features at full buildout of the park include an enlarged and improved beach; waterside terraced headlands surrounding the beach; a pocket marsh with salt marsh plantings; a portion of the waterfront promenade; a boat launch at the north end for personal watercraft such as kayaks and paddleboards; north and south meadows with paths and picnic tables; formal, multi-use lawns and large public gathering areas at the north and south ends; north promontory providing dramatic views across the bay to the west to downtown San Diego and the Coronado Bridge to the north; pedestrian and bicycle improvements; beach lawn; interactive fountain; children and family play area; café and beach rental building (including restrooms) at the north end; more parking; a new pier at H Street; improvements to address sea level rise; and more. The existing fishing pier will remain and will be in addition to the future H Street pier.
Harbor Park, along with the future Sweetwater Park, will account for more than half of the new park space planned for the Chula Vista Bayfront.
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Sun Outdoors San Diego Bay RV ResortSun Outdoors San Diego Bay RV Resort
Now Open!
Located at E Street and Bay Boulevard, this RV resort includes a mix of RV sites and vacation cottage rentals with a variety of upscale resort amenities including an onside café and bar, indoor/outdoor gym, arcade, welcome center and pool with panoramic views of San Diego Bay. Visitors can also enjoy the Chula Vista Bayfront’s Sweetwater Marsh, Sweetwater Bicycle Path & Promenade, and the Living Coast Discovery Center right next door, plus nearby marinas, bayfront parks, and more.
Learn more at sunrvresorts.com/sun-outdoors-san-diego-bay/.
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Sweetwater Bicycle Path & PromenadeSweetwater Bicycle Path & Promenade
Now Open!
Sweetwater Bicycle Path & Promenade (Sweetwater Path) is a new multi-use pedestrian and bicycle path that connects Bayside Park, the marinas, and more to the northern area of the Chula Vista Bayfront where Sweetwater Marsh, the Living Coast Discovery Center, and the new Sun Outdoors San Diego Bay RV resort are located. Funded by an Urban Greening Grant from the California Natural Resources Agency, Sweetwater Path provides public recreation while protecting the environment and natural resources, is the first phase of a continuous bike and pedestrian path between the northern and southern ends of the Chula Vista Bayfront, and is an important connection to the existing Bayshore Bikeway. The Urban Greening Grant is funded through the California Climate Investments Program. Sweetwater Path supports the Port’s goals of creating a vibrant waterfront destination on the Chula Vista Bayfront and a safe and healthy place for all to visit, work and play.
The path's primary features include a truss pedestrian bridge spanning the F & G Street Marsh inlet; benches and overlook areas for optimal views of San Diego Bay; native trees, shrubs and ornamental landscaping; and improvements near the bridge to restore a naturalized channel bed and channel stability while also creating new wetland habitat and increasing resiliency of the wetlands to sea level rise.
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PacificaPacifica
Pacifica Companies is in the planning stages for a residential, hotel and commercial development to be located on a City of Chula Vista parcel near the marinas. The finished project could include 1,500 condos, the first phase of which would be just under 200 units. There will also be up to 420,000 square feet of commercial space, and a 250-room hotel. It’s being designed to be pedestrian friendly incorporating wide public plazas and promenades within the interior and exterior of the community.
Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan
The Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan is a local and state-approved land use plan by the Port of San Diego and City of Chula Vista. The plan envisions:
- 70 acres of new parks (100 acres total, including existing parks)
- 120 acres of open space, habitat replacement, wetlands and ecological buffers to protect wildlife habitat, species and other coastal resources
- Shoreline promenade, walking trails and bicycle path network
- 2,850 total hotel rooms
- 600,000 square feet of restaurant, retail and marina-support uses
- 220,000 square feet of mixed-use commercial recreation/marine-related office uses
- 1,100 – 3,000 space parking facility
Timeline
California Coastal Commission unanimously approves Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan.
South Bay Power Plant imploded.
Port and City of Chula Vista celebrate completion of the H Street extension project.
Port enters into an exclusive negotiating agreement with RIDA Chula Vista, LLC for a resort hotel and convention center.
Port adopts a Natural Resource Management Plan.
Port selects Sun Communities, Inc. & Northgate Resorts LLC to develop and operate a new RV Park near Living Coast Discovery Center.
Port and City of Chula Vista approve a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) with RIDA Chula Vista, LLC for the resort hotel and convention center.
Port approves the RV Resort project by Sun Communities, Inc. and authorizes a Coastal Development Permit, pending satisfaction of certain conditions.
Port and City of Chula Vista approve a Disposition and Development Agreement (DDA) between the Port, the City and RIDA Chula Vista, LLC. The DDA set forth the necessary steps for the parties to authorize the financing of the project and commence construction, ultimately leading to a ground lease and required subleases for development and operations of a world-class hotel and convention center.
The Port and the City of Chula Vista continue inclusive and open outreach by holding design workshops for the future Harbor and Sweetwater Parks. The first workshop was held Sept. 27 for a discussion on the community’s preferred uses at both parks.
The Port and the City of Chula Vista hold second Harbor Park Design Workshop.
The Port and the City of Chula Vista hold second Sweetwater Park Design Workshop.
The Port and City of Chula Vista celebrate groundbreaking on the Sun Outdoors San Diego Bay RV resort and Sweetwater Bicycle Path & Promenade projects.
The Port and the City of Chula Vista hold the final Design Workshop for the future Harbor and Sweetwater Parks.
Port approves Coastal Development Permit for Sweetwater Park.
Port approves Coastal Development Permit for Harbor Park.
Port, City and Sun Communities, Inc. celebrate ribbon cutting for the Sweetwater Bicycle Path & Promenade and the Sun Outdoors San Diego Bay RV resort.
The City of Chula Vista and the Port of San Diego finalize the bond financing strategy for the Chula Vista Bayfront.
- May 10: The City and Port voted on any remaining documents that were needed to finalize the leasing documents and its contributions to this project.
- May 11: The Chula Vista Bayfront Facilities Financing Authority (“Authority”) voted on a package of documents to authorize any remaining actions needed to issue bonds.
The Chula Vista Bayfront Facilities Financing Authority (of which the Port of San Diego and the City of Chula Vista are the sole members) and RIDA Chula Vista, LLC (a Houston based developer) close escrow on their respective financing and the various parties have entered into the multiple leasing and construction documents – the final milestone – making way for construction to begin on the 1,600-room Gaylord Pacific Resort and Convention Center.
The Port of San Diego, City of Chula Vista, RIDA Chula Vista, LLC, Gaylord hotels, and hundreds of community supporters gathered for a historic event to ceremonially break ground on the Gaylord Pacific Resort and Convention Center – the catalyst project for the Chula Vista Bayfront.
The Port of San Diego and the City of Chula Vista along with other project partners, South Bay stakeholders, and community members celebrated the start of construction on Sweetwater Park. It is anticipated to open in late 2024.
Anticipated opening of Sweetwater Park.
Anticipated opening of the Gaylord Resort & Convention Center.
Visit the Chula Vista Bayfront!
