South City Park envisions a bold transformation for San Diego, creating a new gateway to the United States from Mexico while restoring one of the city’s most valuable assets: its connection to the San Diego Bay. Anchored by a high-speed ferry terminal with service to Ensenada and express trolley connections to Tijuana, this project reimagines the heart of the city as a hub of connection, culture, and civic pride.
At the core of this vision is the relocation of the San Diego Convention Center to a state-of-the-art structure built above the existing trolley depot near Petco Park. This move eliminates the current convention center’s role as a barrier to the waterfront, unlocking the potential for an expansive new city park. South City Park creates a seamless, unencumbered connection between the Gaslamp Quarter, East Village, the San Diego Central Library, and the bayfront.
Harbor Drive Promenade
The train tracks along Harbor Drive are buried, allowing for a grand pedestrian promenade stretching from Market Street to Park Boulevard. This promenade invites residents and visitors to stroll, relax, and enjoy unobstructed views of the bay, celebrating San Diego’s unique coastal character.
A Reimagined Urban Grid
The city’s historic street grid is extended into the park, with Fourth Avenue and Park Boulevard reaching out into the water to form a striking triangular pier. This new pier becomes a centerpiece of public life, featuring a ferry terminal, restaurants, and a public swimming pool—places where people gather, play, and connect with the waterfront.
At the heart of South City Park lies a vast, multi-use recreational field designed for large civic events, scholastic sports, festivals, and community markets. The field is framed by two distinct elevated vantage points:
Bleacher Building: A dramatic, Niemeyer-inspired structure that functions as both tiered seating and a striking architectural landmark. This angular pavilion features a bold triangular shade canopy and provides an ideal place to observe events on the field below. Beneath the bleachers, a series of commercial spaces activate the park’s edge, introducing cafés, small shops, and cultural spaces that draw people in throughout the day.
Triangle Hill: A gently sloped, grass-covered triangular hill on the opposite side of the field provides a more informal space for spectators. This elevated landscape doubles as a natural amphitheater, offering relaxed seating for casual gatherings and an alternate way to experience events. At its peak, the hill serves as a scenic overlook, providing panoramic views of the Coronado Bridge, the bay, and the surrounding city.
Together, these two elements create a dynamic interplay of architecture and landscape, framing the field while offering multiple ways to experience the park.
A Stage for San Diego’s Biggest Moments
Imagine this: the San Diego Padres win their first-ever World Series. The city erupts in celebration. A sea of over half a million people floods the streets, parading from Petco Park down a reimagined Harbor Drive promenade, through the heart of South City Park, and onto the vast recreational field. The triangular bleacher pavilion and grassy hill become grandstands for history, as the team stands before a roaring crowd, the Coronado Bridge silhouetted behind them. The moment is immortalized in the memory of the city—not just as a sports victory, but as a defining celebration of community, identity, and place.
This is what South City Park is designed for: the moments that define a city, the spaces where people come together, and the stories that unfold when urban life meets the waterfront.
Nestled west of the recreational field, the Orange Grove pays homage to San Diego’s agricultural heritage while providing a tranquil retreat. The grove offers shade, the seasonal fragrance of orange blossoms, and an interactive experience where visitors can pick and enjoy fresh oranges, making it a place of both nourishment and reflection.
The relocated convention center serves as the focal point of the park, dramatically terminating the Harbor Drive Promenade. Elevated above the trolley depot, the center offers panoramic views of the city, bay, and surrounding mountains, embodying an innovative design that embraces accessibility, sustainability, and civic pride.
South City Park is more than a physical transformation—it is a restoration of San Diego’s historic ties to its bay, a reinvention of its role as a binational hub, and a reimagining of urban life in the 21st century. By reconnecting the city to its waterfront and bridging communities across borders, South City Park creates a place where San Diego’s natural beauty, cultural richness, and urban vitality converge.