Renovation of six buildings and construction of three outdoor plazas at the 28-acre Liberty Station NTC Promenade should allow 18 nonprofit organizations to start moving into four of the buildings this year.

Overseen by the NTC Foundation, the project’s first phase begins with the fall reopening of two historic buildings, the library (Building 177) and command center (Building 200). The Promenade is keeping the building numbers, which reflect the order in which they were built at the former base. The other structures in phase 1 are Building 175, designated as Dance Place San Diego; Building 176, Music Place San Diego; and Buildings 201 and 202, identical two-story office buildings to be rented to nonprofit groups.

“This former Navy base will once again come alive with energy, excitement, innovation and training,” says Alan Ziter, executive director of NTC Foundation. He and board chair Phil Blair say the first 18 resident groups are: Jean Isaacs San Diego Dance Theater, Lower Left Dance and Performance Collective, Malashock Dance, San Diego Ballet, San Diego Dance Alliance, San Diego Youth Symphony & Conservatory, Tam Tam Mandingue, Westwind Brass, Aquatic Adventures, San Diego Baykeeper, Walkabout International, ARTS: A Reason to Survive, Expressive Arts Institute, VozAlta, The Jenna Druck Foundation, KIT: Kids Included Together, Visions Art Quilt Gallery and San Diego Watercolor Society.

When complete, the $125 million NTC Promenade also will include acres of green space, a three-quarter-mile landscaped pedestrian promenade, a central plaza and Luce Court, which can accommodate up to 4,000 people for outdoor events.

“With these new plazas and outdoor spaces we are creating new pedestrian walkways and gathering places for sculptures, festivals, performances and dozens of outdoor activities in a park-like setting,” says Walter Heiberg, senior v.p. of The Corky McMillin Cos. and project manager of Liberty Station.