The Port of San Diego has unanimously approved the first lease for the Chula Vista Bayfront project – for a new destination RV park by Sun Communities, Inc., an award-winning RV park developer and operator. With construction anticipated to begin in September, this monumental step sets the stage for the transformation of the Chula Vista Bayfront as envisioned by the Port, City of Chula Vista, and the community in the Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan.
On August 13, 2019, the Board of Port Commissioners granted a 66-year lease to Sun Chula Vista Bayfront RV, LLC, a subsidiary of Sun Communities, Inc., for its Costa Vista RV Resort. The Costa Vista RV Resort will pave the way for the resort hotel and convention center, the anchor of the Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan, as well as the future Sweetwater and Harbor Parks, and roadways.
“With the Costa Vista RV Resort, Sun will be providing a destination experience with lower-cost overnight accommodations as well as enhanced public access and recreation including walking trails and other improvements on and around the site. We look forward to a community groundbreaking celebration in the very near future with our partners at the City of Chula Vista, Sun Communities, Inc., and everyone who contributed to the overall vision for the Chula Vista Bayfront,” said Chairman Garry Bonelli, Port of San Diego Board of Port Commissioners.
“This is a tremendous occasion. Sun’s Costa Vista RV Resort will be an amazing amenity on its own and will be the first in a series of development projects that the South Bay community has wanted for decades. What is now a largely vacant and underutilized industrial landscape will soon be a thriving recreational, residential and resort destination on the Chula Vista Bayfront. We couldn’t be more thrilled that the collective vision of the public, stakeholders, the Port, the City and our development partners will soon be reality,” said Port of San Diego Commissioner Ann Moore, the Board’s Chula Vista representative.
“Sun Communities is absolutely thrilled to finally begin construction on what will be one of the finest RV Resorts in North America, and we are so proud to be the first venture into the Chula Vista Bayfront which so many have worked so hard to bring to fruition,” said John Mclaren, President and COO of Sun Communities. “We are beyond appreciative of the support we have received from the Port of San Diego and City of Chula Vista, and will endeavor to deliver a remarkable project the entire community will proud to have as their neighbor.”
Features of the Costa Vista RV Resort, to be built at E Street and Bay Boulevard, will include panoramic views of the bayfront as well as:
- 246 sites with a mix of traditional RV stalls and park model stalls (park models are temporary cabin-like units that can be rented by the general public and provide temporary accommodations for recreation, camping or seasonal use)
- A variety of amenities, such as:
- Aquatic features including a children’s play pool, family pool and Jacuzzi
- Day spa/salon, massage/treatment rooms, sauna, workout gym
- Grill/restaurant
- Entertainment arcade, game room
- Business center and a multi-purpose room for educational and large guest gathering
- A covered picnic area with outdoor grills
- Children’s rock climbing and playground, bocce ball courts and horseshoe pits
- Welcome center with a marketplace, restrooms, showers and guest laundry facilities
Per the terms of the lease, Sun will invest a minimum of $55 million for on and off-site improvements, and the Port will receive a percentage of the gross revenues from the rental of RV stalls and park model stalls, concessions and other percentage rent categories.
Also at the August 13 meeting, the Board approved Sun’s plans for improvements adjacent to the RV park. Those off-site improvements include the extension of and traffic improvements along E Street, improvements to the future F Street, the realignment of Gunpowder Point Drive to allow continued access to the Living Coast Discovery Center, and grading on adjacent parcels.
Sun Communities, Inc., which recently acquired Northgate Resorts LLC, is based out of Southfield, Michigan and is an experienced, award-winning RV park developer and operator with more than 100 RV resorts across North America. Sun’s team includes the engineering and construction firm, Atwell, LLC. The Sun team has partnered with local contractors for the project – Tucker Sadler Architects, Rick Engineering and Wimmer Yamada Landscape Architects.
The Costa Vista RV Resort will be the first major new component of the 535-acre Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan, which envisions a world-class destination in Chula Vista on San Diego Bay – a unique place for people to live, work and play. When complete, the public will enjoy more than 200 acres of parks, open space, a shoreline promenade, walking trails, RV camping, shopping, dining and more. While providing long-awaited, enhanced shoreline recreation and an active, commercial harbor in the South Bay, the Chula Vista Bayfront project will also establish ecological buffers to protect wildlife habitat, species and other coastal resources.
