SDSU Announces Plans to Open Downtown Art Gallery at Electra

Bosa Development Donates Space Valued at $1.64 million for 60 years

Contact:
Gina Speciale
Media Relations Specialist
San Diego State University
speciale@mail.sdsu.edu

SAN DIEGO (Wednesday, February 13, 2008) — San Diego State University will open a 2,800-square-foot art gallery in downtown San Diego, it was announced yesterday by Joyce Gattas, Dean of SDSU’s College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts.  Located within the Electra tower at 725 West Broadway, SDSU’s use of the space rent-free for 60 years was donated by Bosa Development, builder of Electra. 

“The SDSU community is grateful for this wonderful opportunity Nat Bosa and his company are providing for our students as well as the community,” said Dean Gattas. “This new gallery will contribute to the emergence of a downtown art scene and the location is ideal. We are thrilled to be joining in on everything that is happening downtown.”

Artist rendering of the 2,800-square-foot SDSU Art Gallery in downtown San Diego.

Occupying an entire block at the corner of West Broadway and Kettner Ave., the ground floor space will be independently operated by SDSU’s College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts and School of Art, Design and Art History.  The gallery will showcase student and faculty work, in addition to hosting art exhibitions from around the world. 

“This is a wonderful opportunity for SDSU student and faculty artists, designers and art historians to share their tremendous talents with a wider community audience," said Arthur Ollman, Director of the School of Art, Design and Art History.  "Being in the center of downtown will provide exposure that our students might not otherwise receive."

If purchased, the price tag for the space is estimated at $1.64 million. 

“We are extremely excited to work with SDSU in this joint venture to enrich the San Diego art community,” said Nat Bosa. “I am a big supporter of the arts and am happy to be able to contribute in anyway I can.”

The new gallery will be located across the street from the Museum of Contemporary Art’s downtown extension and just a short walk from the new Children’s Museum/Museo de los Niños San Diego, making this part of downtown a growing cultural hub. 
While construction was completed last month on Electra and move-ins are now under way in the 43-story residential tower, an estimated opening date for the gallery has not been set.  

Electra, the tallest residential tower in downtown, is just two blocks from the harbor and across the street from the historic Santa Fe Depot.  Unlike many of the other high-rise projects in downtown San Diego, Electra was not built from the ground up. The new construction luxury tower was built within the existing historical structure making for a very unusual building process.  The preserved historical shell is that of San Diego Gas & Electric’s Station B building, which was originally built in 1911 by San Diego pioneer John D. Spreckels to house the boilers and turbines for the San Diego Electrical Railway Company. 

 In 2003, Bosa Development took over the historic site and construction began on Electra in August 2004. 

SDSU's College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts is one of eight colleges within the University.  PSFA has more than 7,000 majors including those in the fields of communication, hospitality and theatre arts, and approximately 550 faculty and staff.  There are eight schools and three departments in addition to nine centers and research institutes within the college.  As part of its academic programs, faculty and students provide research and leadership to the community and region.  More than 35,000 PSFA alumni are making a difference and enriching the communities in which they live and work.

Founded in 1986, Bosa Development Corporation is led by its founder, President Nat Bosa.  Backed by over 30 years of Nat Bosa’s previous development experience, the company has enjoyed an unprecedented record of success.  Completed Bosa developments in downtown San Diego include Horizons in the Marina District, Park Place located on Harbor Drive at Kettner Boulevard, Discovery, nestled atop Cortez Hill, and The Grande at Santa Fe Place. 

San Diego State University is the oldest and largest higher education institution in the San Diego region. Since it was founded in 1897, the university has grown to offer bachelor’s degrees in 81 areas, master’s degrees in 73 areas and doctorates in 16 areas. SDSU’s  approximately 35,000 students participate in an academic curriculum distinguished by direct contact with faculty and an increasing international emphasis that prepares them for a global future. For more information, visit www.sdsu.edu.

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