SAN DIEGO | Boom Rundown, Vol. 2

[sandiego_urban]

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

[Andy-4-SD]

What's up, my name is Andy Kaiser. I assume many of you work in the commercial real estate space locally. I've been following this blog pretty much daily since I was in middle school... back when it was on page 350. Growing up in San Diego, I've always had a passion for real estate development and appreciate your guys' contributions that make this forum the peerless source for SD development news.

Now a decade later, I am completing my Masters of Finance & Real Estate in May 2021 from the University of Alabama (Roll Tide) and seeking opportunities in commercial real estate development here in San Diego. While 2 football championships in 4 years is nice, championship developments in downtown SD is what I seek to accomplish. Any advice for a newcomer entering the industry here in San Diego?

I want to put my name out there and network more with you all, please reach out to me if you're looking for new hires or would like to have a conversation. My LinkedIn is https://www.linkedin.com/in/andykaiser0/.

[SDfan]

Originally Posted by Andy-4-SD

What's up, my name is Andy Kaiser. I assume many of you work in the commercial real estate space locally. I've been following this blog pretty much daily since I was in middle school... back when it was on page 350. Growing up in San Diego, I've always had a passion for real estate development and appreciate your guys' contributions that make this forum the peerless source for SD development news.

Now a decade later, I am completing my Masters of Finance & Real Estate in May 2021 from the University of Alabama (Roll Tide) and seeking opportunities in commercial real estate development here in San Diego. While 2 football championships in 4 years is nice, championship developments in downtown SD is what I seek to accomplish. Any advice for a newcomer entering the industry here in San Diego?

I want to put my name out there and network more with you all, please reach out to me if you're looking for new hires or would like to have a conversation. My LinkedIn is https://www.linkedin.com/in/andykaiser0/.

Welcome! I too have been reading these threads since the 6th grade

I am not in commercial real estate, but Hughes Marino is probably SD's most experienced and locally based commercial real estate firm. I'd check them out and the orbit around them.

[Boatguy619]

Bankers Hill is getting more height and density. Picture taken the other day from Harbor Island. This tower will be the tallest in the area at 20 stories. It will be an even cooler approach into SAN splitting the skyline when it fills in more.

2021-04-03_08-47-53 by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/29362128@N08/]

[Will O' Wisp]

Originally Posted by Andy-4-SD

What's up, my name is Andy Kaiser. I assume many of you work in the commercial real estate space locally. I've been following this blog pretty much daily since I was in middle school... back when it was on page 350. Growing up in San Diego, I've always had a passion for real estate development and appreciate your guys' contributions that make this forum the peerless source for SD development news.

Now a decade later, I am completing my Masters of Finance & Real Estate in May 2021 from the University of Alabama (Roll Tide) and seeking opportunities in commercial real estate development here in San Diego. While 2 football championships in 4 years is nice, championship developments in downtown SD is what I seek to accomplish. Any advice for a newcomer entering the industry here in San Diego?

I want to put my name out there and network more with you all, please reach out to me if you're looking for new hires or would like to have a conversation. My LinkedIn is https://www.linkedin.com/in/andykaiser0/.

Nice to meet you Andy. We've never done a general survey, but I get the general sense most of the people in these threads don't work directly in commercial real estate but rather in ancillary fields such as planning, engineering, or construction. Hard to say why, but I guess it can get boring to work all day and then come home to chat online about your work!

Getting a job in SD can be tricky, especially for a newbie. There can be a great deal of competition to live in a beach city
I've heard the City of SD might be opening up some positions in their Real Estate Dept in the May-June timeline for a July start date. The Dept has had some struggles in the recent past, but it's a decent place to work and the sheer range of properties they manage makes that sort of experience invaluable.

[SDfan]

Originally Posted by Boatguy619

Bankers Hill is getting more height and density. Picture taken the other day from Harbor Island. This tower will be the tallest in the area at 20 stories. It will be an even cooler approach into SAN splitting the skyline when it fills in more.

2021-04-03_08-47-53 by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/29362128@N08/]

Love it. There is another 20+ story tower in the works in Banker's Hill, so more infill to come

[mhays]

Normally I'm skeptical of observation tower plans. But I like this one.

Some cities just put towers in boring spots, without having strong tourist crowds. Dallas' Reunion Tower is an example.

San Diego's would be a great location, with good crowds already within walking distance. There'd be cool stuff to look at in every direction. The waterfront point location would make it the symbol of the city and skyline.

The Olympic Torch concept looks better than the plates btw.

I do have a soft spot for Seaport Village though.

[BuildSanDiego]

I for one love the new rendering of the Sea Port tower. It's different and iconic. That's my opinion. Everywhere you go, you see all these towers that look alike. This is different and exciting. The only problem is the California Coastal Commission. Will they approve of the concept? That is the question. We all need to look outside the box.

[Andy-4-SD]

Originally Posted by SDfan

Welcome! I too have been reading these threads since the 6th grade

I am not in commercial real estate, but Hughes Marino is probably SD's most experienced and locally based commercial real estate firm. I'd check them out and the orbit around them.

That's awesome man, appreciate the advice. I have seen quite a bit about them and I know they're very active in the space.

[Andy-4-SD]

Originally Posted by Will O' Wisp

Nice to meet you Andy. We've never done a general survey, but I get the general sense most of the people in these threads don't work directly in commercial real estate but rather in ancillary fields such as planning, engineering, or construction. Hard to say why, but I guess it can get boring to work all day and then come home to chat online about your work!

Getting a job in SD can be tricky, especially for a newbie. There can be a great deal of competition to live in a beach city
I've heard the City of SD might be opening up some positions in their Real Estate Dept in the May-June timeline for a July start date. The Dept has had some struggles in the recent past, but it's a decent place to work and the sheer range of properties they manage makes that sort of experience invaluable.

Would be interesting to see what a survey would say. I'll look out for openings with the city, thanks for the pointer.

[SamFlood]

The Tower looks very Dr Seuss so it may be appropriate but something clean and classic stands the test of time. Space needle or the Stratosphere. At the end of the day its a tower not abstract art

[mello]

Drove by the large block long site bounded by Grape, State St, and Hawthorne yesterday. I noticed it had been all cleared 3 months ago, I did not see any earth moving equipment just a scraped lot. Anyone know whats going on there? It has a very large development approved for it, I remember the renderings from 3 years ago or so it was 7 floors at least and quite bulky.

Regarding Bankers Hill: With all the new things that have gone in the past 3 years it kind of feels like a mini West LA strip of residential buildings. The lot behind Evolution Vegan at 5th and Quince is a perfect spot for a tower been empty for 12 years at least. Oh there is also a new crane up on a very tiny parcel in BH with no underground parking??? Not sure what is is going to be maybe a tall thin residential similar to the one at Texas and EC Blvd with no parking due to City's new ordinance.

[unpermitted_variance]

Originally Posted by mello

Drove by the large block long site bounded by Grape, State St, and Hawthorne yesterday. I noticed it had been all cleared 3 months ago, I did not see any earth moving equipment just a scraped lot. Anyone know whats going on there? It has a very large development approved for it, I remember the renderings from 3 years ago or so it was 7 floors at least and quite bulky.

According to the city's development map, the site is "pending completion of building plans."

Article with renderings from 2017, looks pretty nice. Hope they keep the color.

https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/...-little-italy/

[bgrapes]

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[SDCAL]

Originally Posted by Andy-4-SD

Would be interesting to see what a survey would say. I'll look out for openings with the city, thanks for the pointer.

Welcome to the forum, Andy! This is a public forum and I think people on here are from a wide variety of backgrounds. I, for example, don’t have any professional connection to real estate, development, etc, and I just live downtown and like keeping up with the projects. I am in science/biotech and am particularly interested in some biotech moving from LJ/Sorrento Valley area to downtown, like they are planning to do at the Manchester site. I’m curious to see what that will look like as far as lab space, etc. Best of luck to you in your career. Don’t forget to come in here and give us the scoop on things once you get hired

BTW, check out Alexandria real estate if you’re interested in biotech at all. They are in SD and other major hubs and specialize in high-end science focused spaces. Just did a large renovation in Torrey Pines area on a campus there. Their website has some career openings here in sd

https://www.are.com/

[sandiego_urban]

Originally Posted by SDfan

Haha I hear you. But the folks I am working with are very influential downtown civic leaders and power brokers and they've made clear to me an additional 150-250 feet is a top priority for them in the next CPU. Whatever avenues may get them that additional height will be explored and taken.

And yes, working on FAR too. Also looking at minimum FAR requirments downtown as well so we can stop wasting blocks on mid rise crap.

Below is an article by Lou Hirsh of Costar from January confirming what is said above. It looks like the raised height limits will also impact development around Miramar (UTC) and Montgomery Field (Kearny Mesa).

San Diego Relaxes Zoning Standards Impacting Development Under Flight Paths

By Lou Hirsh
CoStar News
January 15, 2021 | 5:19 P.M.

San Diego City Council has approved a change in zoning codes that relax density and other restrictions for certain projects placed under airport flight paths, as the city looks to boost development of affordable housing.

The changes, recommended last year by the Planning Commission, include relaxing the current 500-foot height limit for projects placed in some parts of downtown San Diego that are not directly underneath the path of planes traveling to and from the nearby San Diego International Airport.

The regional San Diego County Airport Authority has traditionally enforced the 500-foot restriction for all of downtown, based on guidelines from the Federal Aviation Administration, but the city has sometimes granted exceptions that came into conflict with the Airport Authority during times when flight paths were changed.

The city has ultimate authority on downtown project densities in flight paths, but generally must assume increased liability in cases where it overrules the Airport Authority on a project.

After receiving input from the development community, city planners last year moved to streamline certain building codes to help developers avoid conflicting policies enforced by various government entities with input on downtown development, including city, county, federal and port district boards.

Developers have also called for policies to relax density, height and other restrictions near the airport, in order to build higher density projects on otherwise underutilized parcels in certain high-demand areas of downtown. City planners also see denser and larger projects as an effective way to increase the stock of affordable housing in the region.

The San Diego Housing Federation estimates that the region has a deficit of 140,000 housing units that are affordable to working families, due largely to severe under-construction relative to rising demand over the past 20 years.

A proposed $900 million housing bond measure on the November ballot, which sought to build at least 7,500 new affordable units throughout the city, fell short of the required two-thirds approval from voters. However, voters did approve removal of a 30-foot height limit in the city’s Midway District neighborhood, clearing the way for future high-density residential projects near the aging San Diego Sports Arena.

According to a city staff report, the changes approved this week by City Council also allow for denser and potentially taller developments near two city-owned airports used primarily by smaller craft: Montgomery Field in Kearny Mesa and Brown Field in Otay Mesa.

Approved flight-path-related changes could also bring larger developments to the area around Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in the city’s Miramar neighborhood, though the federal government has a say in projects placed near military bases.



https://www.pacificcoastcommercial.c...r-flight-paths

[sandiego_urban]

In addition to the Gaylord Project, it looks like the CV waterfront is finally starting to take off. I don't have full access to the article below, but it mentions construction of Amara Bay by Pacifica Cos. will be starting in the coming months.

[

https://www.costar.com/article/18760...sta-waterfront

[superfishy]

Being primarily a lurker on here, thanks for the updates everyone.

Do you guys think it may be time for a new SD development thread soon? its becoming increasingly hard to keep up with the status of new developments, at least for me..

[Andy-4-SD]

Originally Posted by SDCAL

Welcome to the forum, Andy! This is a public forum and I think people on here are from a wide variety of backgrounds. I, for example, don’t have any professional connection to real estate, development, etc, and I just live downtown and like keeping up with the projects. I am in science/biotech and am particularly interested in some biotech moving from LJ/Sorrento Valley area to downtown, like they are planning to do at the Manchester site. I’m curious to see what that will look like as far as lab space, etc. Best of luck to you in your career. Don’t forget to come in here and give us the scoop on things once you get hired

BTW, check out Alexandria real estate if you’re interested in biotech at all. They are in SD and other major hubs and specialize in high-end science focused spaces. Just did a large renovation in Torrey Pines area on a campus there. Their website has some career openings here in sd

https://www.are.com/

Thanks! Biotech in San Diego is exciting to watch right now. Lots of young talent, your "yuppies", live downtown, so it makes sense to offer places to work there as well. Alexandria and IQHQ are both interesting players to watch in the biotech development space.

[HurricaneHugo]

Originally Posted by superfishy

Being primarily a lurker on here, thanks for the updates everyone.

Do you guys think it may be time for a new SD development thread soon? its becoming increasingly hard to keep up with the status of new developments, at least for me..

We need someone to create it and give a rundown on all the major projects in the pipeline.

I'm too lazy for it so...