JMI Realty and Lennar-San Diego Communities are partnering to develop a master plan for construction of retail, office and residential buildings on seven acres in the Park Boulevard corridor Downtown that could become the first in a series of improvements linking San Diego Bay and Balboa Park. The acreage to be developed is in two pieces immediately east of Park Boulevard and adjacent to Petco Park.

“The parcels are the missing link to finalize our redevelopment plans for the Ballpark District,” says John Kratzer, president and CEO of JMI Realty. “Teaming with Lennar will help us create a vibrant area along Park Boulevard with exciting new urban living options, retail, offices and entertainment areas.”

Larry Clemens, president of Lennar-San Diego Communities, says the goal of the master plan is to create a design for a combination of developments — restaurants and other retail businesses, offices, several high-rise residential buildings and possibly a hotel. “The vision that JMI and the city of San Diego had for the Ballpark District was to create an urban neighborhood where San Diegans could live, work and play,” he says.

The two companies held a national design competition to select a lead architect and, from a field of 30, picked the Johnson Fain team of Los Angeles. Joseph Wong Design Associates of San Diego, Santos Prescott and Associates of San Francisco and Rios Clementi Hale Studios of Los Angeles were selected as subconsultants.