Fifth Avenue marks the heart of the Gaslamp Quarter (Hotels.com)
Community Projects, Gaslamp, Waterfront Park

Updates on Two Major Downtown Projects

By Frank Sabatini Jr.

Exciting changes are in the works within San Diego’s ever-evolving downtown areas.

The seven-block Fifth Avenue Promenade is slated to reinvent the vibe along this major Gaslamp Quarter thoroughfare, between L Street and Broadway. Crews are already at work to make the street more pedestrian-friendly with the installation of bollards, which will block vehicle traffic between K Street and Broadway every day from 11:00a to midnight. If everything stays on schedule, the blockage will go into effect by early to mid-July.

The project’s later phases will usher in new trees and street lights, art and sculpture installations, re-paved streets, and the removal of some curbs.

The promenade was conceived and endorsed in 2019 by The Gaslamp Quarter Association, the City of San Diego, and more than a dozen local politicians. Its estimated time for full completion is fall of 2024.

A stone’s throw away in the northeast section of Waterfront Park, a sports park will soon emerge on a 1.5-acre parcel that will make way for a basketball court, pickleball areas, and a tee-ball field for Little Leaguers. Some of the workers we spoke with at the site said the blueprint might also accommodate “modern, outdoor fitness equipment.”

The plan was approved earlier this year by San Diego County with the hopes it will be finished by late summer.