{"id":238131,"date":"2015-12-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-12-04T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/a-changing-landscape-in-bankers-hill\/"},"modified":"2015-12-04T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-12-04T08:00:00","slug":"a-changing-landscape-in-bankers-hill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/a-changing-landscape-in-bankers-hill\/","title":{"rendered":"A changing landscape in Bankers Hill"},"content":{"rendered":"

Por Frank Sabatini Jr.<\/p>\n

Immune until recently from the rapid growth that swept through North Park and Little Italy over the past decade, developers have set their sights on Bankers Hill with two major housing-retail projects in the works, plus another that was completed in June. Broadstone Balboa Park was the first to materialize. It is also one of the few luxury housing projects in the neighborhood that caters only to renters.<\/p>\n

Located at 3288 Fifth Ave., the six-floor complex boasts 100 apartments in a wide variety of floor plans, plus 14 penthouse units and two refurbished bungalows that originally occupied the lot.The monthly rents range from $2,000 to $6,500, which is in step with the high-dollar value of living in an area long famous for its moneyed residents and architecturally varied houses dating to the late 1800s.<\/p>\n

Much of Broadstone\u2019s interior was designed by acclaimed San Diego-based craftsman Paul Basile, who chose a Prohibition-era theme to honor the area\u2019s rich history. The lobby, for example, includes a library with wooden book shelves supported by metal train-car wheels. The mail room resembles an old bank vault, and the second-floor clubhouse \u2014 rigged with beer taps, a full kitchen and huge steel-framed doors leading to an outdoor Jacuzzi and fireplaces \u2014 is aptly named \u201cClub 421.\u201d The number corresponds to the time of day Prohibition officially ended, at 4:21 p.m., on Dec. 5, 1933.<\/p>\n

\"Sweeping<\/a>
Sweeping bedroom views at The Park overlook the Downtown landscape. (Courtesy Zephyr)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The structure \u2014 which also features two communal rooftop patios, one with an Evo circular cooktop \u2014 marks the fourth Broadstone venture in San Diego. The others are located in Little Italy, Coronado and Kearny Mesa, and with two more in the pipeline for North Park and East Village.<\/p>\n

According to business manager Jamie Maas, the units in Broadstone Balboa Park are 75 percent occupied. The developers, Alliance Residential and Clarion Partners, will eventually lease out an additional 6,052 square feet of ground-level space designated for retailers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking at all options \u2014 salons, bakeries, restaurants and wine bars,\u201d she said.Slated to be the tallest among the emerging crop of new condominium buildings in Bankers Hill is The Park, a 60-unit structure that will rise to 14 floors when it\u2019s completed in spring 2017.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe project is designed to compliment the community,\u201d said Brad Termini, co-CEO for Zephyr, which mapped out the concept for a unique mix of condos and town homes that will each feature impressive terraces and balconies affixed to units measuring no less than 2,300 square feet.<\/p>\n

Located adjacent to Balboa Park, at 2850 Sixth Ave., buyers will enjoy such amenities as gourmet kitchens, private wine storage, concierge service and a state-of-the-art fitness center. Two retail spaces have been incorporated into the $100 million master plan, which Termini said will afford residents \u201csuburban-style living in a vertical, urban atmosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n

The units start at $1.4 million, and some have already been pre-sold based on virtual tours provided at the company\u2019s \u201cDiscovery Center\u201d at 3104 Fourth Ave.<\/p>\n

The neighborhood\u2019s growth spurt, which also includes an upcoming seven-story condo structure called Vue on 5th, located at 2665 Fifth Ave., has received warm receptions from two active players in the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s room in Bankers Hill for all kinds of different architecture,\u201d said Bruce Coons, executive director of Save Our Heritage Organisation, which organizes walking tours of the area the third Sunday of every month. Coons is content that the new developments \u201care not infringing on the sensitive pockets of the neighborhood,\u201d referring to the smaller streets lined with Victorian, Craftsman, Tudor Revival and other vintage homes. His concern with the added density, however, is whether the neighborhood\u2019s infrastructure can handle the influx of new residents.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The six-floor Broadstone Balboa Park is located at 3288 Fifth Ave. (Courtesy Alliance Residential and Clarion Partners)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe have to be careful with large developments in making sure upgrades have been made to things like electrical wires, sewer systems and roads,\u201d Coons said.<\/p>\n

Jake Sutton, administrator of Bankers Hill Business Group, believes the Park Laurel condo development, built in 2005 at Sixth Avenue and Laurel Street, ultimately spurred the recent housing projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve worked in Bankers Hill for the past 10 years, and these are exciting times,\u201d Sutton said. \u201cI\u2019ve talked to a lot of business owners who feel these latest developments are positive for our district. More residents and businesses will result in a more vibrant community.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Vue on 5th, due to open in early summer, the entire ground floor is reserved for retail. This will add potential fuel to the business scene and add to the walkability of the neighborhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not sure yet if we\u2019ll use any of it for a restaurant, but we have three commercial spaces, plus underground parking for customers and residents,\u201d said Briar Belair of ColRich, the company that broke ground last year before recently completing the framework on the 40-unit building.<\/p>\n

ColRich has since begun conducting \u201chard hat\u201d tours of the structure, which features five two-level penthouse suites starting at $1.8 million as well as two and three-bedroom units starting in the $700,000 range. Built-in refrigerators, free-standing soaking tubs and balconies with stacking door systems are among the choice amenities.<\/p>\n

Belair said 15 residences in the Vue on 5th have been sold.<\/p>\n

The sales reps from each project cite a mixed demographic of buyers and renters interested in their properties, noting that about half of them are young and middle-aged professionals from the tech and medical industries.<\/p>\n

Yet even without these chic habitats sprouting up within this once-quiet zone nestled between Downtown and Hillcrest, Coons said the appeal of living in Bankers Hill isn\u2019t something new.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a strong character to the neighborhood that has attracted residents all along,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s an obvious place to put more density, as long as that character is preserved and respected at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014Frank Sabatini Jr.<\/em> es el autor de \u201cSecret San Diego\u201d (ECW Press), y comenz\u00f3 su carrera como escritor local hace m\u00e1s de dos d\u00e9cadas como miembro del personal del antiguo San Diego Tribune. Puedes localizarlo en <\/em>fsabatini@san.rr.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Frank Sabatini Jr. Immune until recently from the rapid growth that swept through North Park and Little Italy over the past decade, developers have set their sights on Bankers Hill with two major housing-retail projects in the works, plus another that was completed in June. Broadstone Balboa Park was the first to materialize. It […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":816,"featured_media":238132,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"A changing landscape in Bankers Hill","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11547,11551,11600],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-238131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-news","category-sdnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/816"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=238131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238131\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/238132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=238131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=238131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=238131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}