Brad Hobson’s Post

Mission Valley Mega Apartment project under construction!

Pacific Center Real estate developers Sterling Bay and Harrison Street are currently building what is slated to become a massive life science campus in the heart of Sorrento Mesa. Pacific Center is a new life sciences campus being developed in phases over four years in San Diego’s desirable Sorrento Mesa submarket. the first phase is well under way and will include 500,000 rentable square feet of brand-new, state-of-the-art scientific research space, a 28,000-square-foot amenity center, and a 1,700-space parking facility. The initial phase is costing $ 650 million to build.

NEW CONSTRUCTION 8th & University Brand new construction located in the heart of Hillcrest located in the 3800 block of 8th Avenue between University & Robinson This project will be an 8-story mixed-use development with 90 new apartment units. This is a COMPLETE COMMUNITIES project. This infill project is on a 10,083-square-foot site (2 parcels). 90 Apartments including 11 Affordable units 33 Studios 45 one bedroom 12 two bedroom Unit sizes range from 407 SF to 790 SF Parking: below grade, 11 parking spaces Tons of bicycle parking Amenities include a fitness room and spa-pool deck at the penthouse level.

Update of construction projects at UCSD campus La Jolla UC San Diego recently received permission from University of California regents to build a 6,000-bed community mostly composed of high-rise dorms. The $2 billion proposal is meant to ease a chronic housing shortage brought on by unprecedented enrollment growth and a shortage of affordable off-campus housing in the surrounding areas of La Jolla & University City. UCSD’s long-term goal is to offer four-year housing guarantees to undergraduates with rents at least 20 percent below market value. About 22,000 students will live in university-owned campus housing this fall, Nearly 2,800 students are currently on waiting lists for housing. Enrollment is expected to increase over the next 10 to 15 years, pushing UCSD past the 50,000 mark and creating more demand for housing. Let’s take a look at a few of these projects: Pepper Canyon West • 1,300 single-occupancy rooms • Two 22- and 23-story towers • 580,500 gross square feet • Completion Fall 2024 Ridge Walk North • 2400 New Student Beds (2026 completion) • 972,000-square-foot development • Rents would be at least 20 percent below market value. • Very close to historic Geisel Library Another significant project currently construction on the UCSD campus is the new Triton Center. The Triton Center • 4 buildings, 332,000 SF complex • Student Health & well-being Center • Alumni & welcome center • Multi-purpose building with 500-person event space • Completion expected in 2026

UTC mall owner Unibail-Rodamco has started construction on a wing of luxury shops and destination eateries on the lot of the original Nordstrom store here at UTC The new space: 50,000 square feet of space spread across two buildings with nine storefronts and two restaurants. The project is set to open in early 2026. Opened in 1977, Westfield UTC has undergone a nearly $1 billion transformation since 2012. In 2017, a more substantial makeover created 400,000 square feet of space, high-end shops, a five-level parking structure, trendy eateries and office space. In 2019, the pricey Palisade apartment tower opened in the mall’s Nobel Drive parking lot area. The mall currently has 280 tenants. The new section will create a mostly single-level experience that extends the promenade at the same grade, over 70 additional parking garage spaces. It will be capped by a new, two-level restaurant building. The mall has leased more than 80 percent of the under- construction addition. Construction on the project started April 1 and the mall owner expects to turn over the retail and restaurant spaces to tenants in the middle of 2025. Last year, the firm sold its two Mission Valley shopping centers to separate buyers for a combined $290 million. It also sold the leasehold for its Escondido mall, now called North County Mall, for $57 million.

Central Elementary Campus will become 270 affordable family units & 57 senior units. The former campus of Central Elementary School in San Diego’s City Heights neighborhood may become part of a $166 million affordable housing project spearheaded by Affirmed Housing. This plan aims to create 270 apartments for low- to middle-income families and 57 affordable units specifically for seniors. Affirmed Housing is paying the district $250,000 in annual rent for the first year of its 99-year lease, a rate that will rise over time. The district anticipates the lease agreement will generate $108 million for the district over the course of its 99-year lease. Final approval is required by the San Diego Unified School District for the redevelopment of this 5.68-acre site at 4063 and 4135 Polk Ave. The family housing project will be five-stories, and will include a mix of one- to four-bedroom apartments, each designed to cater to families earning between 30 percent and 100 percent of the Area Median Income.

Cuatro City Heights-APARTMENT UNITS Construction has started on one of San Diego’s most expensive subsidized housing developments in its history. The $98 million Cuatro development in City Heights will include 117 affordable units- Cuatro is spread out in four separate buildings that are not connected, with three buildings on University Avenue and a fourth on El Cajon Boulevard. Cuatro will have rent-restricted units for extremely low-income residents earning 30 percent to 60 percent of area median income. That is about $28,950 to $57,900 a year for an individual. Construction cost comes out to around $846,975 per unit, higher than most recent luxury market-rate apartments. The biggest expense for the project includes construction costs at $58.8 million. SD Housing Commision has reported on average the cost ot build each NEW affordable unit is $574,000/unit. Rents are not yet set and will vary based on income, vouchers used and if tenants have recently experienced homelessness. The City has said a rough estimate is $723 for an individual for a studio and up to $2,150 a month for a family in a three-bedroom. The 117 rent-restricted apartments, and commercial space, are expected to be completed by fall 2025. The project is a partnership between the affordable housing builder Wakeland Housing and Development Corp. and the City Heights Community Development Corp. Funding for the project comes from federal, state and local sources including $27.5 million from the Department of Housing and Community Development and $37.7 million in various tax credits for building low-income housing Residents will not have parking and it’s hoped by developers that they will use the nearby City Heights Transit Plaza for buses, which is a short walk from all four buildings. The project surrounds state Route 15.

FREEDOM PARK UPDATE The USS Midway Museum and the Port of San Diego broke ground this past April for Freedom Park at Navy Pier, a project that will be the largest veterans park on the West Coast. The multi-year joint project between the Midway and port is anticipated to open in early 2028. The park will start at the west end of Navy Pier and go around the USS Midway to the Bob Hope Memorial and will feature a nature garden, memorials and monuments, seating and shading and interpretive signage. Following unanimous approval from the California Coastal Commission in 2023, the port's Board of Commissioners in February 2024 approved a $7.4 million contract with AMG Demolition for demolition of the large head-house building that started in late April. The park is estimated to cost around $65 million. A total of $29 million has already been committed to the project from several sources, including the port and the USS Midway. An additional $36 million will be raised by the USS Midway Foundation's capital campaign committee.

One of the Fashion Valley Mall owners wants to turn the current JCPenney site into luxury housing units. Simon Property Group announced back in March that it will redo the west end of Fashion Valley with 850 luxury residential units, 100,000 square feet of new shops and eateries. The development will replace the JCPenney store and adjacent surface parking areas. JC Penny will remain open through the 2025 holiday season and construction is expected to start on the retail and residential project shortly thereafter.

Hillcrest Mega Apartment project now under construction… East side of 6th Avenue between Robinson and Pennsylvania. 9 stories, 435 apartment units. REVEL