A new urban infill project is being built in the Barrio Logan neighborhood of Downtown San Diego. The $1.5 million BarrioHaus, a mixed-use development at the corner of National and 16th avenues, is three-quarters completed and is being touted as ideal for design-oriented tenants. It is expected to be built by May.
Situated roughly one mile southeast of Petco Park, the development comprises 1 acre and includes 39,000 square feet of office, retail and restaurant space.
BarrioHaus was designed and developed by San Diego-based Blockhaus LLC, a development and branding company founded by local architect Graham Downes in 2002. Jim Torti, an architect at Blockhaus, is the leasing and construction supervisor for the project.
“BarrioHaus is the first development of its kind in Barrio Logan,” said Downes, whose goal is to position the project as a catalyst for redevelopment in the neighborhood.
Graham Downes Architecture, Inc., also owned and founded by Downes, became the first tenant at BarrioHaus when it moved its corporate office there in November. The firm occupies 11,000 square feet and is providing architectural services for the renovation project. The second tenant, a special event catering company, Sushi on a Roll, recently signed a five-year lease there for 3,500 square feet.
Blockhaus opened up the space for tenants approximately four months ago and it is already almost fully leased, according to Bonnie Kutch, a marketing representative for the company.
The vision behind BarrioHaus is to foster a creative environment to attract a “design oriented” tenant base, including graphic design firms, advertising firms, artists and performing arts groups. Three of the live/work lofts on the site have been leased to tenants , an individual architect, interior designer and a musician.
Two of the four remaining leasable commercial spaces are in the negotiation process, according to Blockhaus. One prospective tenant is a San Diego-based architectural firm and the other is a mortgage banking firm.
The long-term development prospects for the site include the addition of multifamily, urban and loft-style live/work units, according to Downes.
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Affordable Housing: The Olson Co., a Seal Beach-based home builder with an office in San Diego, broke ground on Legacy Walk, a residential community in Southcrest in southeast San Diego, in late February. The community will offer affordable housing options to local families, with anticipated prices starting in the high $300,000s. The first homes will go on sale in the summer.
Under the San Diego Housing Commission’s inclusionary housing program, Olson will sell 11 of the 110 homes at Legacy Walk below the market rate. Qualified individuals can put their name on a waiting list by visiting www.theolsonco.com. (Additional information about the affordable homes component will be released this year, according to the company.)
The Olson Co. celebrated the groundbreaking of the 110-unit Legacy Walk community last week with a traditional “first pitch,” thrown by a member of the Jackie Robinson YMCA baseball team.
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Residential Giant Enters Downtown Market: Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in San Diego announced last week that it will expand its presence into Downtown San Diego, a market where it had not previously operated. The company acquired the assets of Clark Tess Properties, a San Diego-based independent residential brokerage with a Downtown San Diego office.
Jill Morrow, the president and chief operating officer of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in San Diego, said the acquisition of the office, located on the corner of Columbia Street and Broadway “is just the first step in our growth efforts for Coldwell Banker San Diego into the Downtown market.”
Clark Tess specialized in serving real estate clients in Downtown San Diego, Banker’s Hill, Hillcrest, Kensington and Mission Hills. The firm’s six sales agents booked more than $40 million in sales volume during 2004. Stephen Clark and Maureen Tess, co-owners of Clark Tess Properties, will remain with the newly combined organization.
After the acquisition, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in San Diego will include 20 locations and more than 850 sales associates. During the last 12 months, the firm grossed more than $4.6 billion in closed residential sales.
Susan Renick, currently the manager of Coldwell Banker’s Coronado office, will also assume responsibility of the Downtown office.
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Phoenix Heating Up: The San Diego-based real estate consultant and economic analysis firm London Group Realty Advisors, Inc. is looking east and has opened its first satellite office in Phoenix. It will be headed up by Shaun McCutcheon, currently a research analyst with the firm.
In his February Economic and Real Estate Monitor, Gary London, the president of the firm, called Phoenix “a western boom town,” where single-family residential real estate continued to dominate development in the highly affordable market. The median price of a home there just hit $202,672, according to London, compared with the $478,000 seen in San Diego in January.
Will Phoenix be the next San Diego? London said that he predicts the next level of activity in Phoenix will “turn urban, ultimately taking on some of the same characteristics as urban Southern California projects.” As urban efficiency, traffic and development entitlement become greater factors, mixed-use, condominium and infill projects will play a greater role in development there, he added.
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Dress For Success Drive: The San Diego Building Owners & Managers Association is hosting a clothing drive through March to collect gently used business attire for the Dress for Success program a nonprofit organization helping women in need make transitions into the work force. To donate clothing, please contact Vicky Cate at (619) 561-7577.
Send residential and commercial real estate news to Heather Bergman via e-mail at hbergman@sdbj.com or via fax at (858) 571-3628. Call her at (858) 277-6359, Ext. 3114.
