Emerald Hills is a neighborhood in southeast San Diego approximately four miles east of Downtown San Diego bound by State Route 94 MLK freeway to the north, 60th Street and Merlin Avenue to the east, Market Street to the south, and Euclid Avenue to the west. The neighborhood is predominantly residential, comprised of mostly single-family homes, but also includes the Valencia Park/Malcolm X Branch of the City of San Diego libraries, the Elementary Institute – Science adjacent to the library, and Johnson Magnet School. The neighborhood is named after the Emerald Hills Country Club and Golf Course, which was sold in 1939 to construct the radio towers that are a prominent feature in the neighborhood. The remaining portion of the golf course was subdivided and developed in 1958. As part of the Encanto Neighborhoods Community Plan of 2015, Emerald Hills is identified as highly diverse. As a result of restrictive covenants in the mid-20th century, the Encanto neighborhoods, including Emerald Hills, were among the first communities in San Diego where Black/African, Mexican, and Asian Americans could own land, homes, and businesses. The neighborhood is comprised of almost as much open space as there is residential development, including Radio Canyon Open Space, Eco Canyon, and the Chollas Radio System Open Space. Emerald Hills Park is currently the only developed park in the neighborhood. The Emerald Hills Park improvement project includes major improvements to the existing park that is accessed from Kelton Road to the west, Tooley Street from the East, and provides access to the Chollas Radio System Open Space. The improvements will include renovations of the comfort station, replacement of children's play area, shade structures, picnic areas, assorted park furnishings, concrete path/sidewalk, ADA parking improvements, stormwater basins, and public art.
