Commercial property types in Coronado, CA

What commercial property types does Coronado have?

The City of Coronado reports 7.9 square miles of land in its FY 2025-26 budget profile^[1], while the U.S. Census Bureau 2025 Gazetteer lists 8.105 square miles of land and 5.988 of water for the city^[2]. The two land figures differ, so quote the source you use. The Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimate for the City of Coronado is 21,094 residents, against 22,435 in 2020^[2].

On that footprint the sources document five kinds of commercial property: storefront retail and restaurants on Orange Avenue, hotels and resorts, the Coronado Ferry Landing, an office submarket, and Naval Base Coronado as context. The table below summarizes each. The sources reviewed do not give a Coronado retail or industrial vacancy or rent series, so none appears here.

What do the sources say about Orange Avenue storefront retail and restaurants?

A 2004 California Coastal Commission staff report calls Orange Avenue “the City's main commercial corridor and the main access route through” Coronado^[3]. The same report says corridor land uses include high density residential, retail and office, motels, restaurants and a variety of public uses^[3]. Ask the City which of those uses apply to the specific parcel you are weighing.

The report also describes a parking proposal for the corridor: restaurants at one space per 100 square feet, other commercial at one per 500 square feet, and no first-floor parking required on parcels of 7,000 square feet or less. Parcels with more than 65 lineal feet of street frontage would pay the 1 per 500 rate^[3]. That was a 2004 proposal, not a statement of current code, so it only tells you what questions to ask.

If you are weighing an Orange Avenue storefront, ask the City planning counter which parking and use rules apply to that exact parcel today, whether a restaurant use needs a separate approval, and whether the parcel lies in the coastal zone. Compare the building's frontage and lot size against the 7,000 square foot and 65 foot thresholds only to frame the conversation, never as the answer.

How big is the hotel and resort base, and what does it mean for property?

The City of Coronado budget profile lists 2,113 hotel rooms across all hotels and motels^[1]. The Hotel del Coronado is a U.S. National Historic Landmark built in 1888^[4], and Loews Coronado Bay Resort sits on a 15-acre peninsula^[5]. The Coronado Tourism Improvement District assessments apply to four hotels: Hotel del Coronado, Loews Coronado Bay Resort, Coronado Island Marriott Resort & Spa and Glorietta Bay Inn^[9].

Coronado Times reports that the City collects a 10% transient occupancy tax on each occupied hotel room, that resorts counted 424,000 occupied room nights in 2025, and that hotel tax revenue is projected to exceed $23 million in fiscal year 2027^[6]. The City budget separately shows the hotel tax receipts of $21.4 million in FY 2023-24 and a $22 million General Fund forecast for FY 2025-26^[1].

The Hotel del Coronado is a 28-acre historic property, and its Victorian building restoration yielded 37 additional rooms^[8]. Hotel del Coronado said in July 2024 that Blackstone's restoration plan exceeds $550 million and that over $160 million had been invested in the Victorian building^[7]. Do not add the 37 rooms to the City's 2,113 figure, because the budget profile is undated.

Why it matters: if you are looking at a hotel, motel or any parcel that depends on visitor traffic, ask for the hotel's own operating statements, check whether its owner pays the improvement district assessments, and compare the City's room count with the count the seller states.

What is the Coronado Ferry Landing and how is it held?

The Port of San Diego describes the Ferry Landing at 1201 First Street as an approximately 38,000-square-foot specialty retail shopping center with two parking lots, a public ferry pier and a public boat dock^[10]. Coronado Times reports that the 13-acre center hosts 24 subtenants^[11], and the center's own site names restaurants including Cocina 35 Brunch and Il Fornaio^[13].

The Port said the center was under a 40-year lease with PCA, scheduled to expire June 30, 2026^[10], and Coronado Times reports that the Port cannot sell public trust land^[11]. A 35-year lease was proposed, with rent tied to a percentage of sales and a minimum payment of $600,000 to start, and PCA would have 12 months to meet preconditions before signing^[11].

Coronado Times also reports roughly $17.5 million in deferred maintenance cited by Port staff^[11] and an earlier $20 million renovation PCA had planned^[12]. The June 2026 report describes a proposed lease and preconditions; confirm the current status with the Port before relying on any term.

Why it matters: if you want space at the Ferry Landing, ask for the sublease term, the remaining master lease term and any renovation schedule that could close your suite. If you are an investor, ask the Port how the land is held and what that means for any interest you would acquire.

How much office space is there in Coronado?

Kidder Mathews publishes a San Diego County office report with a row for the Coronado submarket. In the 2Q26 table the row reads “Coronado 111,541 10.1%”^[14], and in the 1Q26 table it read “Coronado 111,541 14.5%”^[15]. The first number is the inventory in square feet and the second is the vacancy rate, so the same 111,541 square feet moved from 14.5% to 10.1% vacant between the two quarters.

That is a Kidder Mathews San Diego report row, not a City of Coronado count, and no Coronado office rent figure is quoted here. Ask the report publisher which buildings the row covers and whether the inventory counts owner-occupied space, and ask any landlord for the building's own vacancy and rent history.

What Navy facts do the sources report?

Commander, Navy Installations Command says Naval Base Coronado accommodates the requirements of 17 squadrons, three aircraft carriers and four SEAL Teams^[16] and is a consortium of nine Navy installations^[16]. Naval Amphibious Base Coronado is approximately 1,000 acres and lies south of the main residential and commercial portions of the city^[17]. North Island has served continuously as home port for Pacific Fleet carriers since USS Langley in 1924^[18].

The City budget statistical section counts 2,814 residents age 16 and over in the Armed Forces (a 2020 Census figure)^[1]. No source here measures how much retail, restaurant or office demand the base generates, so treat Navy demand as context, not a forecast. Ask any tenant whether its customers are base personnel, and whether it has documented exposure to deployments.

How do the bridge and ferry affect access to these properties?

A Caltrans report to the California Transportation Commission says approximately 70,000 vehicles travel across the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge daily and that it serves as the primary route between the City of San Diego and the City of Coronado^[19]. For a storefront, hotel or office, ask how guests, employees, customers and deliveries reach the property, and whether the bridge approach affects them. Compare your location with the bridge, the ferry pier and the Orange Avenue corridor before you assume foot traffic.

What should you check before relying on any of this?

Confirm every parcel-level rule with the City of Coronado and, for waterfront property, the Port of San Diego. Confirm license status of any California professional you hire. This page is sourced research dated October 13, 2026, and it is not a broker opinion of value, a market survey or advice.

• Ask the City which parking, use and coastal rules apply to the exact parcel.
• Ask the Port for the current Ferry Landing lease status before relying on a term.
• Ask the owner for operating statements, rent rolls and lease expirations, not summary figures.
• Ask the data publisher what a Coronado row or room count actually includes.