Greater Logan Heights

Greater Logan Heights is one of San Diego's oldest communities. It includes the Logan Heights, Memorial, Sherman Heights, Grant Hill and Stockton neighborhoods, and is bounded by State Route 94 to the north, interstate 15 to the east, and interstate 5 to the south and west. Just east of Alonzo Horton's successful New Town development, early San Diego developers set their eyes on these nearby communities in the late 1800s. Early settlers moved into Victorian homes with view of the San Diego Bay. 

The ethnic identity of Greater Logan Community began to take shape soon after. As original settlers followed the streetcar system as it pushed to distant neighborhoods, railroad construction and the industrialization of the waterfront lured new residents seeking this work. Many African Americans migrated to San Diego seeking manufacturing employment during and after World War I. 
Mexican-Americans came for  the same reasons, and were further spurred by the Mexican Revolution and deteriorating economic conditions in Mexico. Both ethnic communities eventually concentrated in and around these neighborhoods. 

Today, more than 85 percent of Greater Logan Heights is Latino. Cultural appeal, relatively affordable housing, and proximity to jobs and transit attracted many here in recent decades. The African American community, although declining as a percentage of the total population, continues to maintain connections here, namely many large African American churches located in the community.

Shunned for decades, private capital discovered the Greater Logan Heights communities in recent years. A strong real estate market, the end of the suburban frontier, and the success of downtown rendered these communities as the new urban frontier. But the development of Petco Park on the east side of downtown further accelerated development pressures. As Center City East was rebranded the East Village, and social service agencies and warehouse gave way to condominiums, property values skyrocketed and rents rose. 

While Greater Logan Heights continued to be a residential community consisting predominantly of single-family homes, duplexes and triplexes, industrial uses encroached into our community.  Zoning changes in the 1950s encouraged additional industrialization of the area.  This history remains evident today.  Industrial operations concentrate in the central portions of the community, and are sometimes directly adjacent to single family homes.

With redevelopment pressures heading towards Greater Logan Heights from downtown, it is imperative to shift how redevelopment is done in this community.  Greater Logan Heights wants to capture what’s good about redevelopment and increased capital investment, while avoiding the displacement that it can sometimes cause.  In this way, redevelopment must be thought of more broadly; how to make a better community, not just a better place.   Especially at a time when the real estate market is down, redevelopment should turn its attention toward people and ways to improve the lives of residents living in these communities.