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SAN DIEGO – San Diego’s downtown skyline surrounding Petco Park will see a reimagining in the coming years as city leaders approved a new plan for East Village Quarter.

A series of splashy renderings accompany a proposal for East Village Quarter, a mixed-use development that would be built on a city-owned lot known as Tailgate Park between 12th and Imperial avenues and K and 14th streets. The plan includes building out 1,800 residential housing units, 50,000 square feet of office and retail space and a public park, a city staff report shows.

It is a $1.5 billion effort put forth by a joint development partnership between the Padres, New York-based real estate company Tishman Speyer and Ascendant Capital Partners, a Los Angeles-based firm.

In Tuesday’s 8-1 vote, city leaders decided to sell the 5.25-acre Tailgate Park site for $35.1 million and approve the development agreement. The plan was unanimously approved last month by the council’s Economic Development and Intergovernmental Relations Committee, which features four members: Raul Campillo, Chris Cate, Jennifer Campbell and Monica Montgomery Steppe.

A project plan for the East Village Quarter proposal includes a series of housing units, office and retail uses and parking spaces. (Provided by Padres Development Team)

It implements a timeline for the developer to close on the deal by Dec. 23 with the start of the first phase of construction possible between July 2024 and December 2025.

The proposed schedule under the development agreement shows the first phase of construction would be complete 45 months after it starts with the entire project expected to be finished by late 2035.

In a staff report, the city’s economic development staff contend that the council must decide whether selling and developing the site is consistent with its Centre City Redevelopment Plan. The report notes some community benefits — including creating a minimum of 270 units affordable to low-to-moderate income families — and net proceeds to the city of nearly $6 million.

It also will include some 1,200 new above-grade parking spaces, satisfying a city lease requirement with the Padres, and a 1.3-acre public park the developer says will be “activated with community focused events.”

A developer presentation shows the project has support from key organizations, including the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown San Diego Partnership.

It may have some detractors as well, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. On Sunday, the newspaper reported local lawyer Cory Briggs has charged the city with “(fabricating) a narrative” about Tailgate Park to get around the Surplus Land Act, though a city economic development official swatted away the claim.

A series of splashy renderings accompany a proposal for East Village Quarter, a mixed-use development that would be built on a city-owned lot known as Tailgate Park between 12th and Imperial avenues and K and 14th streets. (Provided by Padres Development Team)

Former City Attorney Michael Aguirre also is quoted in the Union-Tribune report, criticizing the city’s negotiations with the Padres to replace parking spaces at Tailgate Park.