El Cajon leaders are mulling ways to push progress on development of Kaiser Permanente’s long-vacant 25-acre property in the city, including a possible acquisition.
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“Because the City is largely built out, an undeveloped property of this size represents one of the most significant remaining development opportunities in the City and has substantial economic, employment, housing and public benefit potential,” a staff report said.
City leaders voted unanimously during a July 28 meeting to direct staff to analyze the city’s legal, financial, land-use and policy options, including possible acquisition of Kaiser Permanente’s property, which sits in the center of El Cajon.
Kaiser has owned the undeveloped lot at the southwest corner of Greenfield Drive and East Main Street since Scripps Memorial Hospital East County shuttered in 2002. The vacant lot has left East County with essentially one hospital, Sharp Grossmont in La Mesa.
Kaiser officials have long expressed their intent to develop a regional medical campus and hospital on the property, but it has remained empty for two decades.
“Promises don’t build,” Deputy Mayor Michelle Metschel said.
Tired of waiting, local leaders are considering their options to force progress on the delayed development.
“Kaiser Permanente is committed to the health and well-being of our patients in El Cajon and throughout East County San Diego,” Kerry Forde, Kaiser’s interim senior vice president, wrote in an email statement. “As part of that commitment, the development of our property in El Cajon remains included in Kaiser Permanente’s long-term capital plan.”
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Forde said Kaiser “continues to evaluate the property’s potential and remains willing to work collaboratively with the City regarding the future development.”
This isn’t El Cajon’s first attempt to accelerate development of the dormant site. In 2022, city officials passed an ordinance requiring Kaiser to develop a comprehensive plan for the entire site before construction could begin. Last year, the council also considered rezoning the property from medical to residential use.
“I’m beginning to worry,” Wells said. “The property itself is problematic, it attracts homeless people, it’s an eyesore in the middle of the city.”
El Cajon is largely built out, and the site has significant potential for economic development, he continued.
“I’d like to … again consider legal options to force the moving forward of this project,” Wells said.
In the meantime, Forde said Kaiser remains “focused on serving East County residents.” Kaiser Permanente has two primary outpatient medical offices in El Cajon, including an office on Travelodge Drive and another on East Main Street.
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