A 331-acre, $900 million development project at Brown Field in Otay Mesa was unanimously approved Monday by the San Diego City Council.
The project by Brown Field International Business Park LLC is scheduled to be constructed in four phases over 20 years, and include aviation upgrades to the airport and 2.9 million square feet of industrial, commercial and office space. A hotel is also in the plans.
The development is designed to attract aviation-related businesses and companies that depend on transportation or need quick access to the international border, said developer Richard Sax.
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"Airports are far too important to be just for the taking off and landing of airplanes," Sax said.
He called the airport that runs along the 905 freeway "an undeveloped and underutilized asset."
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The project's proponents say it will make Otay Mesa one of the fastest- growing industrial areas in the state, provide 4,000 permanent jobs and 8,000 temporary positions, and improve the area's economy.
Development adjacent to the city-owned airfield is sparse, mainly consisting of automobile recyclers.
Public opposition was limited to technical issues regarding developer fees, which were resolved, and environmental impacts on owls and vernal pools. Environmental mitigation is built into the plan for the project.
Sax said plans also call for construction of a solar energy array that will provide power to the airport.
–City News Service
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