by: Dan Plante / Fox5SanDiego / Aug 5, 2026
If the city of San Diego and their chosen developer have their way, the old Midway District will be transformed into a shiny new village with 25-story apartment buildings and dozens of new businesses.
No one is arguing that the area needs a serious facelift.
But from the beginning, the city and the developers have at times seemed to sidestep the environmental impacts and the voice of the people.
“We are here today to say we are not backing down. We’re here today to tell San Diego what’s really happening in our city”, says Patty Ducey-Brooks of the Old Town Planning Board.
In this case, what’s happening is a potential building boom. Not only Midway Rising, with proposed 25-story apartment towers in a 30-foot height limit zone.
But down the street at the old Naval Warfare building, plans are underway to build a row of 30-story apartment buildings.
Both projects would be exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act if state lawmakers approve SB 958.
“We’re talking about the potential for 50,000 new people in less than one square mile. That would double the population of Point Loma and add approximately 20,000 new cars to the road”, says Eric Law of the Peninsula Planning Board in Point Loma.
The Midway Rising area was built on swampland after World War I, another issue that some say has not been addressed.
“We’re not only worried about the impacts of going up, but also what’s under our feet. If you dig down, you’ll hit water. If you build 25-story high-rises, you’ll need to dig down about 60 feet. This is a recipe for disaster”, says Lori Saldana, former State Assembly Speaker Pro Tem.
Saldana has been tracking the rising water table for decades. She’s been posting videos of flooding in this area every time there is a high tide.
“You can’t legislate sea level rise. We know the sea level is rising. And we need a formal Hydrology Report on the impacts of building massive buildings on old marshland”, says Saldana.
Right now, SB 958 is waiting in a committee to be approved. If it passes and is signed by the governor, it would allow the developer to build high, dig deep and require fewer environmental studies for the possible impacts to this area.
Editordude Note: the SB 958 state legislator– Senator Akilah Weber Pierson — will be holding a community conversation on Sunday, August 9 at north side of sports arena at 10 a.m.
