What is the Chula Vista Bayfront?

The Chula Vista Bayfront spans more than 535 acres of vacant, former industrial land where the city meets the San Diego Bay. The city is working with the Port of San Diego and private developers to transform the site into a major recreational and commercial destination that will also serve as a demonstration of state-of-the-art energy and communications infrastructure. Future development includes a 275,000-square-foot convention center, a 1,450–room hotel, commercial office buildings, parks, walking trails, a marina and an RV park.

Energy Reduction

Development agreements require all new buildings at the Chula Vista Bayfront to meet unprecedented energy efficiency standards. Each individual building must be at least 15 percent below state energy efficiency standards, and the entire site must be at least 50 percent below state standards.

“Smart” Opportunity

The Port and the City of Chula Vista worked with engineering experts at Black & Veatch to assess the energy strategies to achieve the Bayfront’s ambitious energy reduction goals. The team also evaluated the communications and smart infrastructure that would be needed to monitor and control the energy systems and provide amenities to workers and visitors at the Bayfront. The resulting Chula Vista Smart Bayfront report, published in 2016, yielded several key findings.

Energy Findings

• Energy efficiency measures, such as solar water heating and efficient air conditioning, should be pursued aggressively because they are the most cost-effective way to achieve the goals.
• Building orientation and passive energy design elements should be incorporated early into the design process to reduce overall energy loads for heating, cooling and lighting.
• Building designs should maximize space for rooftop solar photovoltaic systems and solar water heating
• Electrical energy storage is a promising and cost-effective solution for reducing energy demand during peak hours in office buildings and hotels.
• On-site non-renewable energy generation (such as a central heating and power plant using a microturbine and absorption chiller) may be a viable option.

Smart Communications Findings

• The Bayfront needs a robust network that is scalable, interoperable, multi-purpose, reliable, secure and affordable to operate and maintain.
• The City should use a detailed decision framework to evaluate and compare different smart communications infrastructure elements.
• The Bayfront network must be flexible enough to accommodate a range of future applications, such as public wi-fi, public safety, parking management, video feeds, etc.
• Edge computing (including edge data processing and data analytics) can help reduce the amount of data sent over the network, making it more efficient.
• The City should partner with local agencies to develop the fiber-optic backhaul necessary to support the network.

Learn more about Chula Vista Bayfront here >