Change was going to come to Chula Vista’s Bayfront once the shovels went into the ground for the $1.2 billion Gaylord Pacific hotel resort.
And now, right next door, dozens of World War II-era buildings are now gone.
This was expected.
Gaylord Pacific Project Transforming Chula Vista's Waterfront
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“This is the former Rohr manufacturing facility,” said Emil Wohl, principal for the Wohl Property Group, which bought 700,000 square feet of factory space on nearly 45 acres between Gaylord Pacific and Interstate 5.
“The Gaylord really makes this a special spot,” said a smiling Wohl while he was next to the leveled site, which stood for more than 80 years. “It was the economic center of the South Bay.”
Wohl hopes to be a part of that economic center again as the Chula Vista Bayfront undergoes a massive transformation beginning with the resort hotel.
The property is undergoing remediation in preparation of future development. Wohl pictures a strip of shops and restaurants along H Street and a series of office buildings, possibly for research and development. Within the next decade, the Wohl property could be neighbors with Gaylord Pacific and Pacifica’s massive Amara Bay, a mixed-use development promising hundreds of homes and new businesses.
Wohl said all of it will bring more money and jobs to the region.
“It will restore this area as a vital economic center,” Wohl said.
Wohl said they expect to break ground on their new development sometime next year. They are still in discussions about what the development will be.
