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Co. Makes Strong Start With Little Italy Apartment Building

The son and grandson of one of San Diego’s most prominent developers — Corky McMillin — have joined the building boom in Little Italy with the construction of high-end apartments.

Andy and Scott McMillin chose Little Italy as the site for the first construction project of their company, McMillin LLC, because “it’s going, it’s hot,” said Andy McMillin, the grandson.

They’re also planning to redevelop four barracks buildings at Liberty Station into a boutique, 79-room hotel.

As Andy McMillin sees it, Little Italy has overtaken the Gaslamp District as the place to go in San Diego.

Scott (left) and Andy McMillin continue the McMillin family’s tradition as San Diego home builders with construction of a Little Italy apartment building. Photos courtesy of McMillin, LLC

The Place to Be

“I see the Gaslamp as more of a tourist destination,” he said. “Little Italy, I think, is where all the residents of downtown go to hang out.”

The eight-story apartment building at1810 State St., includes 99 apartments with 42 customized floor plans and interior finishes aimed at a target audience of professional women between the ages of 28 and 35.

That demographic makes up about 60 percent of Little Italy residents, Andy McMillin said.

The apartments range from 488 square feet for a studio to 1,234 square feet for a penthouse with an average size of about 725 square feet.

Rents range from $2,114 to $4,483. As of mid-December, 20 of the 99 apartments had been leased.

The apartments have white and black cabinetry and other touches meant to evoke a “SoHo kind of feel” without being overly trendy, Andy McMillin said. Bathrooms have upgraded faucets and tiles that go from the tub floor to the ceiling.

All apartments have wood floors, and penthouse apartments have flooring with a herring bone design. They have floor-to-ceiling windows with nine-foot high ceilings, private patios, and walk-in closets.

There’s also a sixth floor sky spa with a panoramic view, a shade structure, day beds, lounge seating and MP3 ports with built-in speakers, and a rooftop lounge with craft beer on draught, a big-screen television, outdoor grills and kitchen appliances.

‘Neighborhood Amenities’

Because there’s so much going on in Little Italy, Andy McMillin said he and his father didn’t feel the need to include some of the other amenities often found in apartment projects elsewhere and concentrated on making the apartments as appealing as possible.

“We don’t have a gym, we don’t have a full-sized pool, we don’t have some of the amenities people might want to check off their amenities list,” Andy McMillin said. “It’s basically using the neighborhood as the amenity.”

With that in mind, the building has an open air patio on the ground floor.

“You could feel like you’re in a restaurant, but it’s your house, it’s your residence,” Andy McMillin said.

The McMillins’ entry into the Little Italy market is part of a boom “that’s been building over the last couple of years,” said Matt Carlson, senior vice president of CBRE.

“It starts with what’s going on the ground, which is the retail,” Carlson said. “The retail is unbelievably strong.”

That, in turn, makes the neighborhood appealing to housing developers, which in turn makes it a desirable location for office space.

Los Angeles-based Kilroy Realty announced in November that it had acquired old warehouses covering a full block in Little Italy which it plans to transform into a five-story office building.

Darcy Miramontes, executive vice president of the commercial brokerage firm JLL, said Little Italy has become “the most desirable of downtown’s eight neighborhoods.”

“It’s really the most favored multifamily market in downtown San Diego,” Miramontes said.

Walkability

In addition to the restaurants and retail shops in Little Italy, its farmers market is well known throughout San Diego and the neighborhood is a short walk to Waterfront Park near the county administration building, Miramontes said.

“Walkability is really important, that’s one of the reasons Little Italy is really desirable,” Miramontes said.

Building on a Legacy

The McMillins’ Little Italy apartments and the Liberty Station hotel are meant to build on the legacy of Corky McMillin, who died in September 2005.

“When we do projects, it’s going to have our name on it, so we just want it to live up to our expectations because our projects are our reputation, and that’s very important to us,” Andy McMillin said.

The Corky McMillin Cos. built more than 20,000 single-family homes and nearly 2,000 apartments.

Andy McMillin said McMillin LLC is not directly tied to the Corky McMillin Cos. established by his grandfather, although Scott McMillin is one-third owner of the latter, and McMillin LLC shares Liberty Station office space with the Corky McMillin Cos.

As a parent company, the Corky McMillin Cos. at one time included McMillin Homes, McMillin Construction, McMillin Commercial, McMillin Realty and McMillin Mortgage.

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