The large office, retail, entertainment and academic facilities in University City, also known as UTC (with over 9 million sq. ft. of office space),[4] Sorrento Mesa/Sorrento Valley (also over 9 million sq. ft.),[4] Torrey Pines (over 2.6 million sq. ft.),[4] and Del Mar Heights/Carmel Valley (over 4.4 million sq. ft.),[4] together form San Diego's "North City edge city" as it is a major center of employment outside of downtown San Diego.[5]
The area is primarily zoned for light industrial use. At its center is the San Diego Tech Center. There is a particular concentration of businesses in the fields of telecommunications, wireless applications, and biotechnology research.[6] There are also hotels, restaurants, and small retail areas which cater primarily to employees and visitors of the businesses.[7]
Major businesses operating in Sorrento Mesa include Qualcomm, Dexcom, Texas Instruments, Fujitsu, T-Mobile, Novatel Wireless, NuVasive, and the Active Network. [6] In 2011 the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced plans to move into a $100 million, six-story building on Vista Sorrento Parkway in Sorrento Mesa.[8] The building houses 400 special agents and support staff; the FBI occupied the building in May 2013.[9]
Prior to European contact, the Kumeyaay village of Ystagua (istawa in Kumeyaay) sat at the foot of the mesa in Sorrento Valley, which was a major tool manufacturing, food processing, and trade hub in the region which had a population of about 200.[10]
Development of the area began in the 1980s with a series of industrial parks. Support services such as restaurants and shopping began to be added later in the decade.[11]