Mister A's owner Ryan Thorsen says he is continuing to pursue The Admiral at NTC, an expansive redevelopment of the long-vacant former Naval Training Center officers' quarters overlooking Rosecrans Street that would combine a restaurant, marketplace, wine bar, bakery, game room, wedding venue, gardens and standalone speakeasy into a single hospitality complex.
When SanDiegoVille first reported on The Admiral in September 2024, Thorsen was raising approximately $15 million and hoped to break ground the following year, with the project targeted for completion in summer 2026. Summer 2026 is now nearly over, and construction has not begun. The project's estimated cost has since increased to approximately $20 million, and Thorsen now says the first portions could open in fall 2027, with subsequent phases continuing through the end of 2028.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported Friday that Thorsen says financing is nearly secured and he expects to break ground before the end of this year. The NTC Foundation, which oversees 26 historic buildings at Liberty Station, has also expressed confidence in the project's progress and expects a necessary lease involving the city to come before the San Diego City Council in the coming months. Both financing and the city lease remain works in progress.
The anticipated construction timeline has also continued to evolve. Times of San Diego reported in late July that construction was expected to begin by early fall. The current target is now sometime before the end of the year. The Admiral's website also continues to advertise a spring or summer 2027 completion, while Thorsen's newly disclosed phased schedule extends through 2028.
Delays are not unusual for large adaptive-reuse projects, particularly those involving historic structures and city-owned property. In The Admiral's case, however, the delays come as the project's cost and scope place it among San Diego's more substantial new hospitality developments.
San Diego restaurants have continued to contend with rising labor costs, inflation, higher rents, insurance premiums and changing consumer habits. Recent closures have affected both longstanding businesses and heavily invested newcomers. Michelin-starred chef Drew Deckman's North Park restaurant closed less than two years after opening, while Cucina Enoteca ended a 12-year run in Del Mar after the economics of operating its 8,200-square-foot location became increasingly difficult. Dreamboat Diner and Vulture closed less than a year after debuting following a lengthy and expensive renovation.
Liberty Station itself has experienced turnover. Wildflour Delicatessen was converted into a different restaurant concept less than a year after opening, while Lola 55 placed its previously announced Liberty Station flagship on indefinite pause after closing its L55 concept at Westfield UTC after approximately 15 months.
At the same time, significant hospitality investment continues throughout the region, meaning the current environment has produced major openings alongside high-profile closures. The Admiral's eventual performance will depend on a particularly broad collection of uses rather than a single restaurant.
One former officers' residence would become a 162-seat indoor-outdoor restaurant serving what Thorsen describes as approachable upscale American cuisine influenced by Point Loma's fishing history. Another would become a European-style marketplace inspired partly by Point Loma's Portuguese heritage, combining a wine bar, bakery, prepared foods and floral shop. A neighboring house would become a retro game room and bar with pool tables, jukeboxes, vinyl booths, bocce ball and cornhole, designed around a 1960s and 1970s counterculture theme.
The largest former residence would become a wedding and private-events venue surrounded by restored gardens, with an upstairs two-bedroom suite available to wedding couples. Away from the main collection of homes, a deteriorating 1,600-square-foot former gatehouse would be transformed into a Hemingway-inspired speakeasy. The surrounding property would also undergo extensive rehabilitation, including restoration of historic gardens.
The variety of uses means The Admiral would rely on several sources of business, including restaurant and bar customers, marketplace visitors, weddings, private events and other guests.
The officers' quarters sit on elevated property along the western edge of Liberty Station, providing panoramic views but occupying an area that currently receives considerably less pedestrian activity than destinations such as Liberty Public Market and the Arts District.
The property's relative separation from Liberty Station's busiest areas presents both a challenge and an opportunity. The collection of historic buildings, gardens and views could establish The Admiral as a destination of its own, while weddings and private events could provide revenue independent of regular restaurant traffic. The property is also near the recently opened Joan and Irwin Jacobs Performing Arts Center, potentially providing customers for the planned gatehouse cocktail bar before and after performances.
Thorsen brings significant restaurant experience to the development. He spent years operating Mister A's before acquiring the Bankers Hill restaurant from longtime owner Bertrand Hug in 2022 and subsequently completing an approximately $2 million renovation.
The Admiral, however, involves a substantially different type of development, requiring the rehabilitation and operation of multiple historic structures across a large property. The difficulty of redeveloping the site predates Thorsen's involvement. NTC Foundation CEO Lisa Johnson told the Union-Tribune that several previous developers pursued plans for the property but ultimately did not move forward.
“This is one of the more difficult adaptive reuse sites to work with,” city Economic Development Director Christina Bibler told the Union-Tribune.
Architect Christopher Bittner also described a lengthy approval process complicated by turnover among city personnel familiar with Liberty Station's redevelopment.
The condition of some of the buildings adds another layer to the project. The former gatehouse currently has a partially collapsed roof, broken windows and damaged walls, while other structures have largely remained secured to prevent unauthorized entry.
The project's estimated cost has increased from $15 million when announced in 2024 to approximately $20 million today. That projection may continue to increase.
Thorsen says he has assembled a group of investors he describes as silent partners and that financing is nearly complete. The NTC Foundation says progress has advanced sufficiently that it expects the remaining city lease to reach the City Council later this year. If those steps are completed, Thorsen plans to open The Admiral in phases.
The first phase, currently targeted for fall 2027, would include the restored gardens, parking and three of the former officers' quarters. The events venue would follow several months later, with the gatehouse speakeasy expected to be the final component. Full completion is now projected by the end of 2028.
The schedule represents a substantial change from the timeline presented when the project was announced. In 2024, the development was estimated at $15 million with a targeted summer 2026 opening. In July 2026, construction was expected to begin by early fall. The current estimate is approximately $20 million, with groundbreaking targeted before the end of 2026 and full completion potentially extending through 2028.
Historic redevelopment projects frequently encounter permitting, financing and construction delays, and rehabilitating buildings approaching or exceeding a century in age can present challenges not found in conventional restaurant development.
The Admiral's plans also call for extensive preservation of the site's history. Thorsen and design firm Bells + Whistles intend for the individual venues to evoke different periods of the former Naval Training Center, retaining original flooring and architectural details while incorporating vintage furnishings, artwork and memorabilia connected to people who lived or served there.
If the remaining financing and lease approvals are completed and construction proceeds on the current schedule, the first portions of The Admiral at NTC are expected to open in fall 2027, with the full complex targeted for completion by the end of 2028.
For more information, visit theadmiralntc.com.
Originally published on August 22, 2026. Information first reported by Lori Weisberg of San Diego Union-Tribune.
