A Quarry Converting to Mixed Use

"The quarry, owned since the late 1920s by the Grant family, has produced stone and concrete for many of the major construction projects in San Diego County over the last 70 years - from airport runways at Lindbergh Field to skyscrapers, piers, Navy installations, highways and most recently, Petco Park, the downtown baseball stadium of the San Diego Padres."

"On this February morning, the two men watched as a front-end loader dug into the last of the rapidly waning piles of fist-sized stone on the quarry floor. The deafening sound of rocks smashing into a metal dump truck will soon fall silent. In its place, Mr. Sudberry said, will be the sounds of "waterfalls, song birds, wind in the trees" and children playing."

"The project, called Quarry Falls, has been on the drawing board for much of the last decade, but was approved by the city council last October. In the next months, earthmovers will finish compacting soil and terracing the 230-acre site as it is readied for the first phase of construction, set to begin next year."

"Phase one - which is budgeted for $375 million, a quarter of the project's $1.5 billion price tag - will include construction of multifamily housing units, retail shops and some commercial office space."