The beautiful San Diego, California, is a place that has been dubbed “America’s Finest City.” Community leader and long-time San Diego County resident, David Malcolm, has witnessed the city’s transformation over the years and contributed to its development and community service programs, playing a role in the community’s current vibrancy.
According to the United States Census Bureau’s 2020 data, the City of San Diego continues to be the eighth-most populous city in America with a population of 1,386,932, which is a 6.1 percent increase from data collected in 2010.
Malcolm says several forces drive San Diego’s steady population and job growth, including quality of life and weather.
“Most people enjoy living in San Diego due to the quality of life,” said David Malcolm. “I believe that quality of life starts with a great job. Not only one that is financially rewarding but also emotionally rewarding. San Diego offers opportunities that most communities only dream of acquiring. If you add the best weather in the United States to quality of life in employment, you have created a community that very few will want to leave.”
In addition to choosing San Diego as a forever home, Malcolm has reaped the reward of planting his business roots into the community’s soil with over four decades of work experience. The real estate expert fueled his passion through professional progress and an uncompromising work ethic, starting his career earning his real estate license while still in high school. Since then, he has managed multiple complex real estate, development, and financial transactions and holds the highest professional commercial real estate designation, CCIM – Certified Commercial Investment Member.
With a history deeply embedded in the San Diego community, David Malcolm is well versed in the different sectors that bring life to America’s Finest City.
“If you think of communications, you think of a San Diego-based company called Qualcomm. In the life science field, you find Illumina headquartered in San Diego. You can find nuclear submarines, aircraft carriers, air bases, Navy SEALs, and over one hundred support ships on the military side. Suppliers to the military have created hundreds of thousands of high-paying jobs. San Diego’s beaches, Zoo, Safari Park, SeaWorld, the Midway Museum (the most visited aircraft carrier museum in the United States) not only drive conventions and visitors to San Diego but help keep people wanting to live in San Diego,” said Malcolm.
Malcolm’s financial talents heavily influenced development at San Diego’s notable landmarks, such as the South County Olympic Training Center. While serving as a Chula Vista City Councilmember, Malcolm obtained a one-million-dollar donation from Conrad Hilton for the facility’s beginning stages of construction. In addition, during his tenure, Castle Park and Otay became a part of the city’s largest annexation in California history.
Beginning in 1989, the entrepreneur provided jobs for over one thousand workers in the San Diego area through his forty-plus Rally’s Hamburger stores. Malcolm currently serves as President of Cal West Apartments, Inc., a trusted provider of quality rental housing in San Diego and South Riverside counties.
The profitable growth brought to San Diego County from its local organizations allows the city to continue thriving despite the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain disruption. One of these organizations is Amazon, which is on its way to being San Diego’s largest employer and a driver of new construction. The American multinational technology company recently opened a new building in the Otay Mesa area of San Diego that spreads out over 3,000,000 square feet.
“Amazon realized that San Diego isn’t just San Diego, but it includes an area across the border called Tijuana. San Diego is often underestimated. We have all heard of ‘Dallas/Fort Worth,’ but few people outside of our county ever say ‘San Diego/Tijuana,'” said Malcolm.
Another exciting transformation taking place this year in San Diego is at one of the most convenient large-city airports found in the United States. Malcolm pointed out that for a great city to flourish, there must be a modern, efficient airport, and San Diego International Airport lives up to its standards, annually adding $12 billion to the city’s economy and currently undergoing a major improvement project.
Times of San Diego reported that the San Diego International Airport recently awarded a $2.3 billion contract to replace Terminal 1, updating its thirty gates from the 1960s. A second phase is scheduled to occur in 2027, which includes the addition of eleven new gates.
“San Diego has created many significant transformational venues over the last several decades,” said Malcolm. “In every direction you look, South, North, East, or West, you can see exciting innovation in America’s Finest City. It is no wonder people like me have no desire to leave.”
About David Malcolm
David Malcolm of San Diego is an influential real estate professional, entrepreneur, and community leader with over four decades of work experience. Mr. Malcolm is an esteemed graduate of Harvard Business School’s Presidents Program, a licensed real estate agent and broker, and a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM). He has run and advised multiple public and private companies and held several municipal and statewide public offices.