{"id":249139,"date":"2015-09-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-09-11T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/gilman-talks-about-his-property-and-pernicanos\/"},"modified":"2015-09-11T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-09-11T07:00:00","slug":"gilman-talks-about-his-property-and-pernicanos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/gilman-talks-about-his-property-and-pernicanos\/","title":{"rendered":"Gilman talks about his property and Pernicano\u2019s"},"content":{"rendered":"

Por Ken Williams | Editor<\/p>\n

Morgan Gilman has been in the news lately, and it hasn\u2019t been his doing. The longtime owner of the Gilman building, located at the Hillcrest gateway intersection of University and Sixth avenues, tells San Diego Uptown News his side of the story about whether his property could be part of any redevelopment at the Pernicano site.<\/p>\n

Pernicano family representative Sherman D. Harmer Jr., president of Urban Housing Partners, has been speaking this summer before community groups in Hillcrest to float ideas for the long-vacant property and gather input on what people want to see on that site. Harmer stunned listeners at the Uptown Planners meeting on Aug. 4 when he said potential buyers of the Pernicano property were also negotiating to purchase the Gilman building.<\/p>\n

\"Gilman<\/a>
A view of the Gilman building from the intersection of University and Sixth avenues in Hillcrest
(Foto por Ken Williams)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gilman, a real estate developer who heads the Morgan Gilman Co. in Carmel, California, acknowledged that several developers who have been looking at the Pernicano property have contacted him. He also dropped the big news that he just signed a lease to rent out the old Harvey Milk\u2019s\/City Deli site, which anchors the Gilman building and takes up more than half the block on University. Gilman said he was not at liberty to reveal his new tenant, and said it would not be another restaurant but would be related to the \u201cservice industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

But few people have as clear an insight into what might be happening to the Pernicano property than Gilman. Rumors were rife over the Labor Day weekend that there never was a buyer for the Pernicano property, as Uptown News received emails and texts from readers wondering whether the community had been fooled. Gilman confirmed that several months ago he talked to several developers who were interested in the Pernicano project, but could not reveal their identities due to confidentiality concerns.<\/p>\n

Harmer addressed those rumors on Tuesday, Sept. 8, in an email reply to Uptown News and updated the community on the latest developments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe announced at the Uptown Planners meeting last week [Sept. 1] that we have put on hold escrow discussions with developers,\u201d Harmer stated. \u201cIt is too hard to contract with a developer with the zoning conditions being in a state of flux due to the current Community Plan amendment processing through the Uptown Planners right now.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Pernicano family is continuing to secure the entitlements with their own finances. Including our proposals for the Pernicano property in with the Community Plan amendment will surely speed up the approval process,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe [city] Planning Department expects approval next summer for the EIR [environmental impact report] and the Community Plan amendment. Urban Housing Partners is moving ahead at full speed with massing and conceptual design concepts for review by the public,\u201d Harmer concluded.<\/p>\n

Gilman said Harmer\u2019s comments \u201cmake sense. You need height and density exemptions to make a project of this magnitude to work.\u201d Hillcrest\u2019s height restrictions of 65 feet always stir passionate debate whenever exemptions are sought.<\/p>\n

The Pernicano property includes a boarded-up building fronting Fifth Avenue, a parking lot in the middle of Sixth Avenue and the Pernicano\u2019s restaurant on Sixth Avenue that has been closed for 30 years. That property is about 25,000 square feet and has access to two of the most prominent streets on the west side of Hillcrest. But potential buyers are eager to have frontage on University Avenue \u2014 the main east-west thoroughfare through Hillcrest \u2014 because it would allow developers to create a blockbuster gateway to the community coming off the state Route 163 exit onto Sixth Avenue. Adding the Gilman property would double the footprint to 50,000 square feet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did look at one plan that was intriguing,\u201d Gilman said. \u201cIt was an impact project. It was a mixed-use project with a boutique hotel, condos, retail space with community use integrated into it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gilman said the plan combined the two properties as well as another lot on Fifth Avenue that was contiguous. He was unsure which lot that was, however.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the vehicle access to the property was off Sixth Avenue,\u201d he said. \u201cParking was off Sixth. The lobbies of the hotel and condos were off Sixth. It was the perfect scenario. It has a second level plaza with outdoor dining. I looked at this plan very carefully.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gilman said Hillcrest lacks a major building \u201cthat sets the tone\u201d for the future, and this plan would have done that.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have the unique opportunity to define Hillcrest,\u201d he said. \u201cA community only gets a few opportunities in one\u2019s lifetime to create such a project. You have a wide street in University. Sixth Avenue comes off the 163. Fifth Avenue is a major street. This is the only commercial property on the west side of Hillcrest that can truly define a community. Because of its location, the impact of a project this large will be minimal on residential neighbors \u2026 but then you have enough acreage to do something truly special. To do it right, you have to have density. If you don\u2019t, you have mass and you don\u2019t get plazas and public spaces. It\u2019s the only thing that makes economic sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

To those in the community who want to designate the Gilman building as historic, Gilman isn\u2019t so sure that he agrees with them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is historic?\u201d he asked rhetorically. \u201cI\u2019m not sure it is or isn\u2019t. It was built early enough to be one of the older buildings in Hillcrest, but does it have value historically?\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the community needs to have vision, walking a fine line between preservation and embracing change.<\/p>\n

Gilman believes the Pernicano project must get exemptions from the 65-foot height restriction to be financially feasible and architecturally striking. \u201cYou have to create height to have open spaces on this particular property,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Some people in the community agree that a taller building at this site will help draw attention away from the AT&T building \u2014 an eyesore that stands 140 feet \u2014 which is not going to go away anytime soon because it houses infrastructure that controls much of the company\u2019s telecommunications network for Uptown and Downtown. Putting a dramatic building complex across the street from the ugly AT&T building would focus attention away from it; often the first thing you see exiting the 163 into Hillcrest.<\/p>\n

Gilman said the Pernicano project is \u201cneeded to revitalize the commercial core \u2026 it will bring storefronts, restaurants, outdoor dining, and an open plaza on the second level that will be fed by hotel guests, condo residents and the public. It will create a community room for everyone to share.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you allow enough height, enough space and enough public space, you create a focal point for the community. The larger the project, the more amenities the public gets. But if they end up with a 65-foot limit, all you are going to get is a building mass that nobody wants.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Gilman rarely visits San Diego, he said he strongly hopes that Hillcrest finally gets a building that will put the community on the map. Critics of the \u201cdo nothing\u201d mentality among some local leaders say Hillcrest has fallen behind North Park, East Village and Little Italy in creating destination locations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis project,\u201d Gilman said, \u201chas the potential to define Hillcrest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014Ken Williams es editor de Uptown News y Mission Valley News y puede ser contactado en <\/em>ken@sdcnn.com<\/em><\/a> o al 619-961-1952. S\u00edguelo en Twitter en KenSanDiego<\/a>, cuenta de Instagram en KenSD<\/a> o Facebook en KenWilliamsSanDiego<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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