While Mission Valley hardly gets any press these days, times are a’changing. From one end to the other, the river valley is going to see some major additions and amendments to this one-time heart of San Diego’s retail, service, hotel/motel and auto businesses.

Mission Valley today remains the county powerhouse of those industries, with more than 2.5 million square feet of regional shopping centers, another 2 million-plus square feet of other retail space; 3,000-plus hotel rooms; 5 million-plus square feet of office space; and a dozen car dealerships, not to mention more than 4,000 apartment and condominium units.

In the past five years, the valley has greatly expanded its wares. The retail component was charged by the addition of Fenton Marketplace, with its 550,000 square feet of big box space including IKEA, Lowe’s and Costco, not to mention a life-size bronze statue of Mark Twain. As an integral part of that center, a wonderful 20,000-square-foot library designed by Wheeler Wimer Blackman opened. It is an award-winning knowledge center and definitely worth a visit. A trolley stop is right next door.

New motels keep going up, quietly adding to the room inventory. In the past few years they have included Residence Inn, Extended Stay, Hawthorne Suites and the Homestead. Someday soon the Handlery will reconstruct itself with a new high-quality resort and more than 350 luxury apartments. And lest I forget, the Auto Club is building its new regional facility down the street from the Handlery across from Hunter Steakhouse.

On the residential side, a multitude of activity is taking place. Since the late 1990s, several thousand apartment units have been added, including JPI’s 600-unit Mission Center north project (now called Villa Dorado); Archstone’s 734-unit Mission Valley; Morgan’s 464-unit Rio Vista; and in the I-15/Friars Road vicinity, La Mirage added 340 units; IAC Stonecrest, 230 units; and Morgan’s Cambridge with 320 units.

More is on the way. Going up now is The Promenade, a 970-unit high-density apartment complex across from the Marriott. So far, the first 600 units are under construction.

In planning are the aforementioned Handlery 350-plus units and Citylink’s 150-unit project at the Linda Vista/Morena trolley stop. Breaking ground this month is H.G. Fenton’s 396 super-luxury apartment project near Fenton Marketplace, with a community trail running through its middle. With granite, garages and glitz, it should be the most luxurious rental project in the valley.

And that’s only on the rental side.

On the sale side of the equation, Shea and Continental Homes are under way with an 800-unit multi-family community called Escala (escalaliving.com). It will be the largest such community built in the county since Renaissance in UTC. The initial thrust will be six communities ranging from bungalows to garden condominiums with 1,000 to 1,700 square feet. Infrastructure improvements have begun. Reservations are being accepted.

Developers Steve Quinn and Eric Luna are planning a new 161-unit condominium project along Friars Road. Quinn and Luna, in a venture with Sares-Regis, now are selling the 300-unit River Colony condominium conversion. To date, more than half of the River Colony condominiums are sold at prices averaging $280,000.

We suspect that, at some point, the very underutilized 166-acre Qualcomm property will become a “town” itself, with a new stadium for the Chargers and more than 3,000 new sale and rental housing units. The initial plan by HOK and M.W. Steele architects calls for a combination of townhomes, garden style condominiums and mid-rise projects in a park-like setting on 60-plus acres between the Fenton Marketplace and the new stadium. In addition, office buildings, hotels and retail space will be integrated into the residential community. Our firm’s preliminary analysis indicates that property and sales taxes generated by residential and commercial development could produce sufficient funds to offset the costs of stadium bonds.

From a transportation standpoint, the trolley that now stops at Qualcomm is about to travel to Santee via SDSU. With its 5.9-mile $400 million addition, the trolley will proceed eastward from Qualcomm, cross over Interstate 8, tunnel under the college to the middle of campus and then burrow eastward through La Mesa out to Santee. That connection will complete the great circle route for the trolley from Downtown San Diego to East County.

As the eastern anchor of Mission Valley, the 34,000-student SDSU campus is undergoing a massive expansion with plans for a 250,000-plus square-foot retail and theater complex, more than 600,000 square feet of office/research development space, a new sorority row, a new 72,000-square-foot health center, a new religious neighborhood, more than 250 student apartments and a 70-room David Lorimer-designed ElderHostel. A $14 million fraternity row was recently completed with a highly creative plan by M.W. Steele. Steps are even being taken to improve the traffic patterns on the College Avenue corridor. SDSU President Stephen Weber is definitely shaking up the staid old campus.

It’s not your father’s Mission Valley anymore. It’s a hotbed of residential and commercial activity, getting hotter by the day.

Alan N. Nevin is director of economic research with MarketPoint Realty Advisors (www.marketpointra.com), a consultancy providing real estate and demographic statistics, feasibility studies and litigation support to the California land use industry and legal professions.