By SDCN Staff
San Diego, CA–UC San Diego announced a new resident partner moving into UC San Diego Park and Market: San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation.
Starting in November, Economic Development Corporation’s 22-person team will begin to occupy office space on the 4th floor of Park and Market, UC San Diego’s multi-tenant, mixed-use business, arts, and educational office building in downtown San Diego’s East Village neighborhood. As a regionally focused nonprofit, many of the corporation’s annual meetings, conferences, and events will now take place at the building.
“A key component of Park and Market’s mission is to build a diverse talent pipeline and help our local workforce cultivate the skills they need to successfully compete in the global economy,” said Todd Miller, Director of Asset Management for Park and Market. “We are thrilled to welcome EDC and look forward to welcoming them to the vibrant mix of community and campus resident partners at Park and Market.”
“Our move into Park and Market represents an exciting new chapter for our team at EDC. On the heels of a pandemic that changed the way our world and our region operates, we settle into a ‘new normal’ with changed perspective and doubled commitment to inclusive growth,” said EDC President and CEO Mark Cafferty, who highlighted why the organization was moving into Park and Market in a San Diego Union-Tribune op-ed earlier this year.
An independently-funded nonprofit, Economic Development Corporation works with San Diego business, government, and civic leaders to drive an inclusive economic development framework in order to maximize regional prosperity, enhance global competitiveness, and position San Diego effectively for investment and talent. The resident partner agreement with Park and Market is an important part of the corporation’s Inclusive Growth Initiative, the main goals of which are to build a strong local talent pipeline, equip San Diego’s small businesses to compete globally, and address the affordability crisis in the region so that more households can thrive.
Located on a full city block at the intersection of Park Boulevard and Market Street in San Diego’s East Village neighborhood, and near the Blue Line Trolley connecting UC San Diego’s main campus, with the U.S.-Mexico border, the Park and Market are designed to serve the entire San Diego region as a social and intellectual hub for civic engagement, learning, and collaboration. While many other metro areas in the nation have a university building or at least a university presence in their urban cores, the building is the first of its kind: a purpose-built source of connection between the university and its community in a central, downtown neighborhood. The flexibly designed mixed-use building represents the university’s commitment to connecting with the cultural heritage and shared values of the region’s diverse social, cultural, and economic community.
UC San Diego has curated a list of strategic tenant partners in addition to the Economic Development Corporation to further maximize the impact of Park and Market on the San Diego region. Other resident partners with permanent homes at the building include the Burnham Center for Community Advancement and Media Arts Center San Diego’s Digital Gym Cinema. Media Arts Center/Digital Gym uses the building’s cinema space and classrooms to stage local film festivals.
