The city has made the completion of the Hazard Center Drive extension a condition of the project’s permit – meaning they couldn’t break ground on the new housing units until the road was opened to the public. In 2003, the current owner of Hazard Center, Principal Global Investors, bought the property with plans to build 473 new residential units on the land. Hazard Contracting Company, at that time – would build the road extension to offset the predicted impacts on traffic that the new development would bring.īefore that could happen, the property changed hands several times over the next 15 years In 1987, the city approved plans for the redevelopment of Hazard Center with a requirement that when traffic on nearby roads reached a certain threshold, the developer – R.E. The westerly extension of Hazard Center Drive, which once open will connect Hazard Center to Fashion Valley, was a part of that plan from nearly the beginning. Hazard Center was in the midst of a transition from a brickyard to what city planners envisioned would be a “progressive mixed-use project combining shops and restaurants, a hotel, office tower and a multifamily residential neighborhood.” But in the 1980s, the area looked much different. Hazard Center is a strip mall development boasting chain restaurants, shopping, a hotel, nail salon and more, nestled in the center of Mission Valley where State Route 163 crosses over the San Diego River. “We have said that to one another a million times when we walked by here.” From bricks to buildings “Why did they even spend the money to do it? What do they do with it?” Debbie Meyer, a 69-year-old Mission Valley resident said while on a walk with her husband. The current owner of Hazard Center, who said he’s spent millions on the project, said the road could be just months away from completion, but residents aren’t so convinced. The city said it is not involved with the project and only responsible for inspecting the roadway before it’s opened.
Meanwhile, Mission Valley’s population is expected to reach more than 70,000 by 2050, tripling from its 2012 population in four decades, further straining infrastructure in the area.Īfter years of assurances to the public that the underpass was months away from being opened, it remains as closed as ever to drivers. Which developer is responsible for paying for the road remains unknown to the public and the city.ĭelays in the road’s opening have held up construction of a 473-unit residential building in Hazard Center. Officials are still trying to figure out what triggered the flooding.Įarlier Thursday evening, the San Mateo County Coroner arrived and they let the victims’ families into the house to retrieve the three dogs inside.But as the property passed through the hands of various developers, the question of who exactly was responsible for building the road became more complicated.Īn eight-year legal battle ensued to answer that question and ended in a confidential settlement between two developers late last year. The two victims have yet to be identified. And they've been trying to get a hold of them all day and no answer,” she said. “Their family came up from Los Angeles to spend Christmas and New Year's with them. Millbrae resident Anabella Amador Griego said that she was sad that the victims' family members, who came to the area to find out the sad news that their loved ones. Neighbors told NBC Bay Area’s Sergio Quintana that the victims, who were a couple, recently moved in the area and added they were friendly. After waiting outside for a while, neighbors approached them and told them that their loved ones died earlier Thursday morning in the flooded underpass. The victims' relatives arrived to Millbrae from Los Angeles Thursday evening. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.įirefighters found one person standing on top of their car and were able to rescue them, Acosta said.įirefighters spotted a second car stuck in the standing water, but they had to retreat to higher ground because the water was rising too fast, according to Acosta. Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news.
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