Residents of Pacific Beach and other coastal communities who’ve been watching all the maneuverings by the developer, the city and mainline politicians around what’s called the PB Tower, (or Turquoise Tower, or Project Vela), may have become familiar with the name Matt Awbrey.
Matt Awbrey has become the face of Kalonymus, the developer of the Tower as he’s assumed the role of spokesperson. Just recently, Awbrey informed city planning officials that Kalonymus planned to resubmit plans for the 23-story structure, at 970 Turquoise Street, for a fifth time. This was in response to the ongoing dispute between the city and Kalomymus.
The in-your-face aggressiveness by Kalonymus over the past year has no doubt thrown Awbrey into a position that he savors, because this is not the first controversy he’s headed up. In a statement about the Tower to the Union-Tribune, Awbrey asserted, confidently:
“The applicant fundamentally disagrees with the city’s assessment of the project and its current review status, and believes staff is on the verge of setting a dangerous precedent that sends a message to every homebuilder and developer that the city is willing to politicize its ministerial approval process even if you play by the rules. The applicant looks forward to continuing to work with city staff on this project, and is therefore in the process of providing a formal response to the city.”
How can Awbrey just throw his weight around like that, as if he owns the place?
Well, Awbrey has worked in San Diego city government — or close to it — for the last 20 years.
Matt Awbrey was a long-time Kevin Faulconer public relations operative who worked for Republican Faulconer when he was mayor — but actually had been by Faulconer’s side since he first was elected to the City Council in 2006. In late 2020, Matt left the mayor’s employ to form his own political consulting outfit now called Matter Strategies.
Here is how he’s described:
Matt Awbrey, Co-Founder from Matter Strategies website
Matt Awbrey is a communications strategist who has built a career of developing and protecting the brands of top decision-makers, earning a reputation as an effective leader and creative thinker who inspires the best in his clients, colleagues and employees.
Matt previously led external affairs for the Mayor of San Diego and oversaw communications for the City of San Diego, a $3.8 billion municipal corporation with over eleven thousand employees. He has 15 years of experience in winning political campaigns and creating successful policy and media strategies.
Matt oversaw the development of the City of San Diego’s award-winning website, new logo and brand identity, and stood up the City’s new Communications Department. He was the speechwriter for six State of the City addresses, bringing heart, wit and the stories of San Diegans to the city’s largest and most-watched annual speech. He also led the communications effort for the City of San Diego’s COVID-19 response, producing daily news conferences for several months at the onset of the pandemic.
Back in March 2014, then-Mayor Faulconer announced that Matt Awbrey would lead his communications team as Deputy Chief of Staff & Chief of Communications. The formal announcement added:
Awbrey has served in several roles under Faulconer since he was first elected to the City Council in 2006. A San Diego native, he rose from a council representative to chief of staff of the council office before leaving to be the main spokesman for Faulconer’s mayoral campaign. Awbrey will oversee Faulconer’s communications team and serve as the media’s point of contact on Faulconer’s major projects and initiatives.
Not too long after Awbrey left Faulconer’s office, he popped up as a consultant for Measure E, the first electoral effort to raise the Midway planning area’s height limit. Matt Potter, over at The Reader in mid-November 2020, wrote:
A political consulting outfit owned by long-time Faulconer PR operative Matt Awbrey, who left the mayor’s employ on October 2, 2020 according to a departing office statement he filed November 3, is owed $24,000 by a Brookfield-backed campaign committee favoring Measure E. That successful effort will raise Midway area height limits, which the developers are counting on to max-out project densities and profits
Brookfield Asset Management, Awbrey’s client, is a Toronto-based real estate giant that partnered with an outfit owned by Denver billionaire Phil Anschutz, ASM Global, to broker “an exclusive sports arena redevelopment deal from GOP mayor Kevin Faulconer.” (We sometimes have a collective memory failure that the whole Sports Arena — Midway Rising mess started with Faulconer.)
As we now know, Measure E was not “successful.” It was blocked by a San Diego Superior Court judge, who ruled that the city of San Diego should have conducted an environmental impact report prior to placing the measure on the ballot. Later, there was another electoral effort headed up by Mayor Gloria and the city council, which also was later blocked by judges.
But not to worry. Chris Cate, the last Republican on the San Diego city council, managed to have the Council proclaim February 12, 2021 as “Matthew Awbrey Day” in the City of San Diego.
Meanwhile, as his new client, Kalonymus, wrangles with the city over the PB Tower, Matt Awbrey has got to be busy. The two sides are so far apart that the whole matter has to eventually come to a head in a courtroom. So Matt must be talking with the lawyers figuring out how to maneuver the situation to their advantage and prepping for a lawsuit.
You can rest assured that this is not the last we’ll hear from or about him.
“How can Awbrey just throw his weight around like that, as if he owns the place?”
Gee, he must have been really, really aggressive!
(Checks notes)
He wrote a moderately worded statement. Not even a sternly worded statement.
*GASP* *FAINTS DEAD AWAY*
Thx much for your reporting on this, and for keeping us informed on this really important issue.