A new $13 million, 50,000 square-foot YMCA facility that will include a health and wellness center, aquatics center, gym and outdoor soccer arena is projected to open at here at El Cajon Boulevard and Fairmont Avenue in 2014. | Photo Credit: Sam Hodgson
By Adrian Florido
In early 2009, the Pearson Ford dealership at El Cajon Boulevard and Fairmount Avenue shut its doors. Not long afterward, Price Charities, a nonprofit that has become a major player in the redevelopment of City Heights, bought the land.
Then the speculation began.
South of El Cajon Boulevard, ethnic business leaders and nonprofit advocates who serve City Heights’ diverse and low-income population hoped the five acres would become an international marketplace or affordable housing complex.
North of El Cajon Boulevard, a different vision emerged. Residents of the more affluent Talmadge and Kensington neighborhoods saw the vacant lot as an opportunity to finally lay claim to the boulevard, a hodgepodge of ethnic mom-and-pop shops they rarely visit. They wanted something transformative: a Trader Joe’s or a Henry’s, and maybe a park — but not affordable housing.
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Plans For New YMCA Crash and Burn With Skaters
HealthyCal.org took a look last fall at various suggestions for what to build on the former Pearson Ford lot. While many residents called for retail and housing, a group of skaters called for half-pipes and pools.