Candy Factory

November marks the 10th anniversary of voters approving Prop. C, the initiative that authorized the Downtown ballpark. Delayed by 18 lawsuits, Petco Park opened 5 1/2 years later in 2004. The project remains incomplete, but not for long. Renovation is finishing up on two historic buildings saved during the site demolition — The Candy Factory and Schiefer & Sons.

The buildings are on the market now and will be completed when the tenant improvements are done, maybe even prior to the end of the season,” says Erik Judson, a principal with JMI Sports. Judson, hired by John Moores in 1996 to work on the ballpark effort and later serve as the team’s “man on the ground” during construction, knows the project well.

Schiefer Building

The 30,000-square-foot Candy Factory is the larger of the two buildings. It is being marketed for retail and restaurant space on the ground floor with its 10,000-square-foot second and third floors available for office leases. Half that size, the Schiefer building also is seeking a ground floor restaurant tenant with the upper floor spaces — which include views into the ballpark — sold as office condos. “Without question, this is one of the great locations in Downtown San Diego, with Petco Park and Park at the Park outside the door,” says Judson.