Hilton San Diego Bayfront Earns ASCE Award of Excellence

bmoreno@portofsandiego.org (Barbara Moreno) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 15:05:32 +0000

The newest addition to San Diego Bay's South Embarcadero has been selected to receive a top honor. One Park Boulevard, LLC, and Flores Lund Consultants are the 2009 recipients of the Award of Excellence for civil engineering from the American Society of Civil Engineers for their work at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront.

The 30-story hotel, which opened in December 2008, has the potential to create a lasting impression of San Diego for millions of visitors and residents alike, the civil engineers group said. The award was based on the Hilton receiving high ratings in four criteria, including contribution to civil engineering progress; resourcefulness in planning and in solution of design problems; innovation in materials, technology and construction; and beneficial environmental effects.

The hotel also has many public benefits including a new waterfront park and the promenade linking Seaport Village to the Hilton, Petco Park and East Village. The public park was designed to be open and flexible for informal gatherings, viewing of the bay and special events. The park includes seven wind activated monumental sculptures by Ned Kahn and 26 art benches by Nance O'Banion. In addition, Starbucks and Fox Sports Grill have recently opened adjacent to the park on the ground level of the Hilton hotel. The Hilton also features the Vela Restaurant and the Spa Aquazul.

The site was once home to Campbell Shipyard, and was used for industrial activities including ship building and manufacturing of bulk petroleum. Extensive environmental remediation was part of the site development and several significant technical challenges were successfully met in the design, including underground major storm water detention structures and filtration, street improvements and traffic signal modification. Pedestrian access improvements were included to improve circulation and access to the bay and the San Diego Convention Center.

The Water Transportation Center, which opened in December 2008, is located adjacent to the Hilton park and includes docks for water taxis, San Diego Harbor Excursion, and transient berthing for mega-yachts. Fifth Avenue Landing developed the WTC project that also includes a one-acre public park and 10 public art benches also designed by O'Banion.

A new pedestrian bridge under construction at Park Boulevard will span Harbor Drive and the railroad tracks and is scheduled for completion in December 2009.

The ASCE award will be presented at the annual awards banquet, which will be held on Saturday, May 16 at the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines.

Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel to open in December 2008

stevebab@cox.net (Steve Babbitt) — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 21:59:30 +0000

The Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel will help satisfy the demand for hotel rooms to serve the San Diego Convention Center and the hospitality needs of downtown San Diego. Located across from the San Diego Convention Center at the intersection on Harbor Drive and Park Blvd., the project will transform the former Campbell Shipyard site into a 30-story, 1.65 million square-foot structure.

The hotel will include:

A 385 foot tower that is 30 stories
165,000 square feet of meeting space
5,360 square feet of retail space
a 23,082 square-foot health club
1,190 private rooms
a 14,000 square-foot restaurant
a 4.3-acre public park
a water taxi dock to serve hotel guests

The total acreage of the site is 12.8 acres. Hilton estimates its total project costs at over $335 million. The hotel is tentatively scheduled to open in December 2008.

Benefits:

Sales and property taxes (over $7 million annually) for the City and County of San Diego and TOT estimated at over $8 million annually for the City of San Diego.
Waterfront public park and plaza for community and Hilton guests.
An estimated 600 jobs created in the service and tourism sector.
Approximately $2 million in public art to be purchased by Hilton.
$6 million annually in Port revenue from the hotel and parking structure.

A live webcam of the development project is available.