San Diego Convention Center Update

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – San Diego’s years-long-effort to expand the Convention Center has suddenly gotten a lot more difficult.

The city decided not to make a 9.4 million dollar payment to gain control of the land needed for expansion.

The leaseholder on the five acres of land the city needs for expansion, is held by Fifth Avenue Landing Company, which is committed to building two hotels on the site. Last year the city agreed to pay Fifth Avenue 33 million dollars for the lease, if the voters approved a hotel tax increase that was to happen in 2018.

The city was to make three payments this year, the first being 9.4 million, but the vote was delayed until 2020.

The land is owned by the port and was leased to 5th avenue in 2010. Five years later, the city wanted to buy the lease from 5th Avenue for 14 million dollars, but defaulted on the payment and the lease reverted back to 5th avenue.

The 14 million dollars it would have cost the taxpayers to get the lease in 2015, is now 33 million in 2019.