Why this matters
Eastlake neighbors say it had been years since they heard any updates about the storage project. Then the construction began on land once designated as open space.
Crews have broken ground on a 120,000-square-foot self-storage facility in east Chula Vista nearly a decade after it was first proposed.
The facility will house 1,284 storage units across two three-story buildings, along with boat and RV storage. It will stand on what was previously an open grassy area near State Route 125 and Eastlake Drive, next to a neighborhood of single-family homes.
But residents raised concerns about the project, telling inewsource that the site has been home to coyotes and other wildlife and that self-storage facilities already exist in close proximity.
The 9-acre lot had previously been designated as open space, with the City Council even rejecting a housing proposal there in 2014. But in March 2020, officials rezoned the area for commercial use.
Neighbors said that was the last time they heard any updates.
Danetza Esparza, whose family has lived in Eastlake for 21 years, said the noise from construction begins early in the morning and can be heard “everywhere through the house.”
Multiple residents said the coyotes who previously inhabited the area have lost their habitat.
Matt Learned said that he used to spend time in the open space with his children and dogs. When crews began working in mid-May, “we were kind of taken by surprise,” he said.
Learned said the city should have been more transparent about the process.
“Even if it’s not their obligation, it would’ve been the right thing to do,” he said.
City spokesperson Mirella Leung Lopez said public notification and community engagement were conducted through the planning process in 2017 and during the rezoning hearings in 2020. The project also underwent environmental reviews, she said.
“This length of time in activity is standard for complex commercial developments navigating macroeconomic shifts, pandemic disruptions, and subsequent ownership transitions,” Leung Lopez said in an email, adding that the city remains committed to open communication with neighbors.
The project developer, UTEX Storage Partners, did not respond to multiple requests for comment from inewsource.
A news release from JLL Capital Markets, a real estate investment company that loaned $23 million to the project, described the area as “extremely dense and affluent” with a need for more self-storage facilities.
Four self-storage facilities are within a 10-minute drive of the site.
As inewsource previously reported, more than 1,000 self-storage units will be built in nearby Bonita under a project that San Diego County supervisors approved last year despite vocal opposition from some residents.
The new Eastlake project is expected to be complete by fall 2027.
Type of Content
News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
