SAN DIEGO-It's not business as usual when it comes to San Diego's Upper East Village. Proponents of Makers Quarter believe that the new live/work/play area is a paradigm shift in development for San Diego. According to panelists at The Urban Land Institute San Diego-Tijuana District Council October breakfast presentation, Markers Quarter is redefining placemaking—the process of collectively shaping the public realm to maximize shared value – by developing a new neighborhood based on a creative culture defined by a collaborative community.
Makers Quarter spans one-fourth of the IDEA District, from 11th Street to 17 Street while bordering F and Market Streets. According to Stacey Lankford Pennington of SLP Planning and a breakfast panelist, the initial planning of Makers Quarter took a different approached by starting with the area's open space (versus buildings) with the heart of the neighborhood being a plaza connecting to a park.
All ideas for Makers Quarter are tested and those that succeed will become part of the master plan, said Lankford Pennington. It is the testing of new ideas that is bringing people to the neighborhood and attracting interest.
Makers Quarter is already establishing a creative vibe. A warehouse wall along F Street, between 14th and 15th, was recently transformed into the first public-art installation of the Museum of Outdoor Photographic Art, said panelists. SILO, the area's new collaborative community space, is being established as a year-round event venue and will be the launch pad to encourage the early adopters to embrace the neighborhood and bring about positive change.
And the venue has already been used for multiple events. As part of the ULI 2013 Spring Conference, SILO hosted a show of local artists, bringing together the art and real estate communities. The venue was also the location for a San Diego Film Festival party.
According to Ron Troyano, president to Civic San Diego and co-partner of Alchemy, a local eatery, other activities for the coming months are in the works including a craft beer event, a pumpkin patch—a first for downtown San Diego—and a holiday craft bazaar.
Although new to San Diego, this paradigm shift in planning has been used successfully in other cities. ULI panelist and leader of Cassidy Turley's Urban Strategies Group Danny Fitzgerald likened Makers Quarter to New York City's Meat Packing District that took advantage of under-utilized space by creating a beer garden that evolved to include a roller rink and retail. Fitzgerald described the planning process as, “…create the space, watch what the people want to do and then recreate and expand.”
Matt Carlson, a senior director of Cushman Wakefield, summed up the project by stating “Makers Quarter is about activation in the community…letting the community have a voice and putting things on the ground that the users will really use.”
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Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
