Torrey Pines Demise

Fight for Flight: Gliders Oppose Research Facility

By HEATHER CHAMBERS
San Diego Business Journal Staff

The Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine will seek final
approval next month to build a $115 million research hub on the Torrey
Pines Mesa, one of seven proposed stem cell research institutes
statewide. The tan, windswept bluffs of Torrey Pines have long
beckoned daredevil pilots who, with a little wind and enough momentum,
launch their gliders off the cliffs above the Pacific Ocean.

Today, those pilots are fighting a headwind that they say is apt to
spoil their usual activities. Torrey Pines Gliderport pilots who fly
fixed-wing aircraft could see their favorite landing spot impacted by
the construction of a state-funded stem cell research laboratory.

The Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, a group comprised of
world-class research institutes such as the Burnham Institute for
Medical Research, The Scripps Research Institute, the Salk Institute
for Biological Studies and UC San Diego, aims to erect a four-story
building on North Torrey Pines Road.

Last week, the UC Board of Regents issued their set of approvals to
the project. The proposal will likely go before the California Coastal
Commission in December for final approval.