May 5, 2021 — The Port of San Diego, the City of Chula Vista and Sun Communities, Inc. celebrated the completion and opening of the first major developments of the Chula Vista Bayfront Project to be built – Sun Outdoors San Diego Bay RV resort and Sweetwater Bicycle Path & Promenade – (Sweetwater Path) on Tuesday, May 4, 2021.

“Sun’s premier, waterfront RV vacation experience and the beautiful Sweetwater Path allow visitors and the public to enjoy more of the Chula Vista Bayfront and its natural resources than ever before,” said Commissioner Ann Moore, Chula Vista’s representative on the Port of San Diego Board of Port Commissioners. “This is just the start of the Chula Vista Bayfront transformation that the South Bay community has wanted for a long time. The Port is proud to be a part of making it happen.”

“It is wonderful to celebrate the opening of the Sun Outdoors San Diego Bay RV resort and Sweetwater Bicycle Path & Promenade,” said Mayor Mary Casillas Salas. “Despite all the challenges in the last year, we have achieved another major milestone on the Chula Vista Bayfront. Our persistence, commitment and dedication to this amazing project is paying off. Thank you to everyone who has gotten us to this point.”

The Sun Outdoors RV resort, located at E Street and Bay Boulevard, includes a mix of 197 RV sites and 49 vacation cottage rentals with a variety of upscale resort amenities including an onsite café and bar, indoor/outdoor gym, arcade, welcome center and pool with panoramic views of San Diego Bay. Visitors can also enjoy the Chula Vista Bayfront’s Sweetwater Marsh and the Living Coast Discovery Center right next door, plus nearby marinas, bayfront parks, and more.

“We are honored to be the first major project completed in the Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan,” said John McLaren, President and COO of Sun Communities. “With our newest Sun Outdoors resort location in Chula Vista, not only are we providing an unparalleled outdoor hospitality experience, but we are also playing an integral part in paving the way for the reinvigoration of Chula Vista’s bayfront. We’re looking forward to seeing the rest of the project come to life and the city of Chula Vista become a premier waterfront destination.”

Sweetwater Path is a new multi-use pedestrian and bicycle path that connects Bayside Park and other Harbor District amenities to Sweetwater Marsh, the Living Coast Discovery Center and the new RV resort in the northern area of the Chula Vista Bayfront. Funded by an Urban Greening Grant from the California Natural Resources Agency, Sweetwater Path provides public recreation while protecting the environment and natural resources. This first phase of a continuous bike and pedestrian path between the northern and southern ends of the Chula Vista Bayfront is an important connection to the existing Bayshore Bikeway. The Urban Greening Grant is funded through the California Climate Investments Program. Sweetwater Path supports the Port’s goals of creating a vibrant waterfront destination on the Chula Vista Bayfront and a safe and healthy place for all to visit, work and play.

Looking ahead, the new RV resort paves the way for the Gaylord Resort and Convention Center, the anchor of the Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan, as well as the future Sweetwater and Harbor Parks, and more. A collaborative effort of the Port and the City of Chula Vista, and certified by the California Coastal Commission in 2012, the Master Plan envisions the transformation of the Chula Vista Bayfront’s largely underutilized industrial landscape into a thriving, recreational, residential and resort destination. When complete, the public will enjoy more than 200 acres of parks, open space, a shoreline promenade, walking trails, RV camping, shopping, dining and more. While providing long-awaited, enhanced shoreline recreation and an active, commercial harbor in the South Bay, projects within the Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan will also establish ecological buffers to protect wildlife habitat, species and other coastal resources.

More about Sun Outdoors San Diego Bay
On August 13, 2019, the Board of Port Commissioners granted a 66-year lease to Sun Chula Vista Bayfront RV, LLC, a subsidiary of Sun Communities, Inc., for its RV resort. Sun Communities is based out of Southfield, Michigan and is an experienced, award-winning RV park developer and operator with more than 150 RV resorts across the United States and Ontario, Canada. The Sun team partnered with local contractors for the project – Swinerton (General Contractor), Rick Engineering (site engineering), Tucker Sadler Architects, and Wimmer Yamada Landscape Architects.

As part of the project, Sun Communities also made offsite public improvements including extending and making traffic enhancements along E Street, upgrades to the future F Street, utilities, grading on adjacent parcels, and the realignment of Gunpowder Point Drive to allow continued access to the Living Coast Discovery Center.

RV resort amenities include:

  • Pool with cabanas and jacuzzi
  • Children’s play pool and splash pad
  • Poolside café and bar – opening summer 2021
  • Poolside movie screen
  • Indoor/outdoor fitness center
  • Arcade
  • Game and card room
  • Sky decks
  • Basketball and pickleball
  • Playground
  • Dog-friendly accommodations
  • Welcome center with a marketplace
  • Onsite laundry facilities
  • Event and meeting space for groups
  • Firepits at every RV and cottage site
  • Spacious patios, seating areas and premium landscaping
  • Exclusive SunStream ethernet service at pedestal to download and/or stream movies, shows and videos
  • Free Wi-Fi and cable

More about Sweetwater Bicycle Path & Promenade
The total project cost for Sweetwater Path was $5.4 million, $4.8 million of which was funded through an Urban Greening Grant awarded to the Port by the California Natural Resources Agency. Urban greening projects like Sweetwater Path help to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, lower vehicle miles travelled, encourage active transportation, and reduce urban heat island temperatures in the area, while contributing to healthy, vibrant communities and activities. Additional funding of $560,000 was provided by the Port’s Capital Improvement Program, and $33,000 was provided by the City of Chula Vista.

On July 24, 2019, the Board of Port Commissioners awarded the construction contract for the Sweetwater Path project, designed by KTU+A, to 3-D Enterprises, Inc., both based in San Diego.

Primary path features include:

  • A three-quarter mile Class I bike path and pedestrian promenade (in bike and pedestrian terminology, a Class I path provides exclusive right of way for bicyclists and pedestrians away from the roadway with cross flows by motor traffic minimized)
  • A steel truss pedestrian bridge with concrete deck spanning the F & G Street Marsh inlet
  • Benches and overlook areas for optimal views of San Diego Bay
  • Native trees, shrubs and ornamental landscaping
  • Improvements near the bridge to restore a naturalized channel bed and channel stability while also creating new wetland habitat and increasing resiliency of the wetlands to sea level rise
  • ADA-compliant features including seating areas and cross-slopes on all designed surface
  • Educational and interpretive signage regarding the history and natural resources of the Chula Vista Bayfront