Economic Development team members Tom, Sonia, Sergio and, Development Manager, Yaneth, share what drove them to the City Heights CDC.

City Heights CDC, along with our partners, Vecinos de City Heights and Mo Human, began its training with a new cohort of Promotoras in City Heights.

“It’s not just selling food, like a frozen bag of croquettes. It's about families gathering at their table having our cheese breads. It's an honor, families getting together and enjoying something we made.”

Thanks to our colleague, Tom Bui, and the San Diego Tourism Authority for combing through the neighborhood to highlight some of the community’s best murals, restaurants, parks, and small businesses.

A belated Happy New Year to everyone in City Heights, we hope this year is off to an amazing start and can’t wait to keep at our 40 year-long mission of enhancing the quality of life in City Heights!

Concerned about housing and tenant rights ?

Hear from an expert on housing related issues Wednesday, January 25th about the City of San Diego’s draft Tenant Protection Ordinance and housing justice advocacy! 

These grocery gift cards help with higher costs during the holidays and are a helpful boost to food security in our community while allowing residents to pick and choose their preferred holiday foods.

“My background is in property management and that’s my work now, so I’ve seen both sides of the work. Property managers and landlords want sustainable housing, and vulnerable tenants should be protected—I’ve experienced both.”

“I don’t think people realize how humiliated renters can be, how few rights we have, and how often landlords break or go around the few protections we do have…”

Our eviction prevention work began as a simple idea: what if we could keep people housed by preventing an eviction, keeping people housed for another month and getting at the root cause of most homelessness?

In many ways, it was a grand experiment…

“Helping bridge gaps between residents and essential resources gets me excited.

Their limited English—which is always a hindrance to accessing resources and opportunities—is less of a problem when they have help. It’s humbling for me, being able to help make these connections.”

Born in Sierra Leone, West Africa, Maseray ran a thriving small goods trading business from her home before being displaced and starting her life in City Heights.

Ask anyone in City Heights what they consider to be the most pressing challenge residents face, and most will tell you without even blinking: housing is the challenge. This is why so much of our work over the past 40 years has been focused on housing…

Inspired by the Cambodian food scene in Long Beach, Somnang, a Cambodian-American raised in City Heights, shares her inspiration which led to the opening of her micro-kitchen, Lucky Sahn Flavors of Cambodia. 

Brandon Renteria, owner and creator of the brunch food truck, The Funky Frenchie, is a recipient of the San Diego Food Justice Project initiative.

We’ve hosted a lot of community events over the past 40 years, but the Winter Extravaganza may have been one of the most fun winter events we’ve ever put on!

After many months of deliberation and community engagement, we settled on the name ‘Tierra Central’ because of this idea of ‘middle ground’ or an in-between space, where anyone from the community could feel welcomed and celebrated.

The San Diego Food Justice Project is celebrating the graduation of our first cohort of business owners!

The cohort began with 40 business owners and entrepreneurs, and 38 of them recently completed an eight session training course, qualifying them for grant funding of up to $7,500!

As we reflect on the past year, we also pause to celebrate what this community has achieved. Our work with business owners in the region calls for a profound expression of gratitude.

Osob Omar, owner and creator of Meliora Essence, forms part of the community of business owners we support.

A robust economy in City Heights is not possible without steady, sustainable businesses for its residents. That’s why we work alongside local business owners and entrepreneurs