San Diego Community College District Chancellor Gregory Smith has certified the district’s interest in evaluating downtown’s Golden Hall site in the Civic Center campus for possible new development.
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Smith and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria at a press conference today. It’s a significant step forward in a grand Civic Center Revitalization Project plan recently conceptualized by the Prebys Foundation, U3 Advisors and the Downtown San Diego Partnership.
The agreement allows the SDCCD to study the feasibility of transforming the aging Golden Hall facility into a modern educational and cultural campus. The concept includes museum space to house the Mesa College World Art Collection, along with classrooms, performance space and other public-serving facilities.
Mesa College President Ashanti Hands noted that the 50-year-old World Art Collection has been one of San Diego’s hidden treasures.
“With a focus on African, ceremonial and ritual art, the collection grew from a simple but powerful idea that students should not just learn about the world, they should experience it,” Hands said.
Prebys Foundation CEO Grant Oliphant praised the SDCCD’s Smith for stepping forward to play a critical early role in the revitalization plan.
“The community wants to see culture, arts, education, creativity, civic space, and residences go into a reborn idea of what the Civic Center of our town could be,” Oliphant said.
Smith said the signing of the MOU means the SDCCD will spend several months determining the feasibility of the Golden Hall site.
Built in 1964 as part of San Diego’s Civic Center complex, Golden Hall was once the urban core meeting space where politicos gathered on Election Day. It was converted to a homeless shelter from 2020 to 2024 before closing due to disrepair.
One issue brought up prior to today’s MOU signing was the prospect of City Hall leaving or staying on the Civic Center site. If it stays it creates a redevelopment issue because one central plant powers all the buildings. It could be challenging at some point to turn off the power to develop Golden Hall and keep City Hall up and running at the same time.
Determination of where City Hall might end up is an important but not immediate factor in moving forward, noted Smith. “We don’t foresee City Hall moving for years,” he said.
Previously, a spokesperson for the mayor said that due to current budget deficit issues, the mayor will not consider an alternate location for City Hall this year. SDSun
