In an economic maneuver announced by Mayor Todd Gloria, the City of San Diego is set to save about $13 million over the next five years. This fiscal repositioning involves consolidating various city departments into city-owned buildings, thereby reducing expenses on leased office spaces. The city's official site reported that the move is a strategic response to San Diego's daunting $258 million budget deficit for the upcoming fiscal year.
Mayor Gloria has intended to aggressively minimize costs without diminishing the city's public services. Plans to relocate the Engineering and Capital Projects Department from the six floors it occupies at 525 B St. downtown to a vacant city-owned space on Gibbs Drive in Kearny Mesa are one of the key actions outlined. According to the City of San Diego, the efforts to move the Fire-Rescue Department to the Civic Center Plaza Downtown are part of a larger endeavor to maximize municipal assets to reduce expenditures. Amid these changes, the Mayor was quoted, "Instead, we will be maximizing our own real estate for the benefit of San Diego taxpayers, helping us save people’s jobs, pave more roads, keep libraries open, and keep cops on patrol."
A renegotiated lease means the Public Utilities Department's call-center staff will be at the B Street building. This action allows for continuity in customer service while reducing the per-square-foot cost from $3.30 to $2.00. Notably, the city will pay no rent for the first eight months under the new lease.
Further solidifying Mayor Gloria's message of economic prudence, a social media post from the Mayor reiterates the administration's stance. "San Diegans expect us to be efficient with their tax dollars -- and that's what we're doing," San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria stated on a post found on his feed. The notable drive to shift City workers out of expensive private leases is a bid to redirect saved funds back into the city's neighborhoods, a move that appears to prioritize fiscal responsibility and community investment equally.
San Diegans expect us to be efficient with their tax dollars -- and that's what we're doing. We're moving City workers out of expensive private office leases and into buildings we already own. This saves $13 million over five years that we are investing back into neighborhoods. pic.twitter.com/QJShBELX07
— San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria (@MayorToddGloria) May 5, 2025
