Actually, here is the quote from the SDDT:

"Planned and under construction retail space currently totals 575,291 square feet, 75 percent of which is a multilevel power center planned for development on the former Unocal site adjacent to Petco Park. By comparison, in 2005 there was 1.13 million square feet of new space planned or under construction, 64 percent of which was located in the East Village area near Petco Park."

I guess this does sound like something along the lines of Harlem U.S.A. by SOM, at least lets hope so.

I'd love to see a SAN-MIA direct route.

Alright, I stand corrected. I also followed-up with someone in the know and actually got to see an illustration to represent massing. No power plant.

But, I don't know poop from shine-ola about uses going in. It is on the block bounded by National, Commercial, 16th and Newton. It appeared to take up the whole block with little setbacks... which is no problem with me.

That's good news. Keep the street wall in downtown and the center city area.

hmmmm interesting I figured that building would be torn down and something with more density would be put in. Are they going to keep the buildings surface parking?

TR Produce
 

Still waiting to hear something about this "mystery" market that I've heard rumors about going into TR Produce.

They still have for lease signs outl, does anyone know if something is going in there and if so what and when????

There is a plan for a high rise on the site but obviously that is not happening anytime soon.

I'd love to see something like that downtown. Perhaps Horton Plaza's anticipated overhaul will model itself after what we see above.

I can't believe they are putting a Rite-Aid there with a Longs Drugstore just down the street at Alta. Is this going to be a full size store or a mini one like the one in Little Italy? They must think that downtown in underserved in this department.

Does anybody have a timeline on the Horton Plaza overhaul?

I don't know anting about except that a sign appeared in the last few days.

Albertson's also as a full drug store in it.

Just a few shots that I snapped earlier today from the downtown webcams:



Vantage Pointe looks to be at floor 18, with 22 more to go
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...WebCam/vp2.jpg

Hilton looks close to topping out
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...bCam/hilty.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...Cam/hilto2.jpg

Strata site preparation
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...Cam/strata.jpg

Setai San Diego (aka Diegan)
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...bCam/setai.jpg

Balboa Theater restoration is coming along nicely. What color is that, anyways?
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...5305600360.jpg

Sapphire Tower at floor 9, 23 more to go
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...5305623188.jpg

Aria
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...Cam/aria-1.jpg

Bayside at floor 5 or 6, with 30 more to go.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12.../bayside-1.jpg

Thanks SD Urban. :)

The Balboa Theatre is orange. I hope that it is just a base layer or something, and that they will paint over it. It looks very strange the way it is now.

I know that there are a few Vantage Pointe enthusiasts on this site but I have to think that coming out of the ground with 680+ units right now (with plans to sell them over the next 36 months) will turn out to be financial suicide.

They are going to have a $200 million, half-empty building for years. The developer is going to have to cut costs somewhere to be able to carry this thing. VP would have to capture every sale in downtown San Diego (in a declining market) to be able to sell it out in 18 months.

I drive by it every day and there seems to be very few workers on site when compared to the size of the project.

Ouch, you're right. But, the developer is not a tiny player. They are located in other ciites and their risk will be spread to those too. If they are stronger elsewhere, like in Canada, they'll have less financial pressure to move units here. When they do, I suppose turning units into rentals is an option. Maybe condotels too?

Yikes, those are good points, sandiegodweller. According to the VP newsletter, it says the project is nearly 50% sold out. Even if that's true, it still leaves over 300 units unsold.

There's also the Long's Drug at Horton Plaza.

I'm kinda liking that 7-11's seem to be popping up all over downtown. I know it's a chain, but it's great to be able to buy a drink and snacks at anytime of the day.

7-11's are everywhere downtown now. It's nice. :)

I wish I could say soon, but I think it's a long, long ways off.

Remodeling of HP is not even listed as a "proposed" item on CCDC's project list, so not even sure if any architect has even formally worked on a proposal. It would probably be years off to get started and, once it is started it would need to go in phases to keep retail alive while remodeling.

It is such an eyesore, though :( The only good thing is the money is there - - Westfield is a monster and they are totally revamping UTC right now. Perhaps they want to complete that prior to moving forward w/ horton plaza?

As someone who owns in downtown, I have no interest in a failed project but the writing is on the wall. The lenders will have much more of a say in the disposition of the units than the developer.

The 50% "sold" is a mirage. I am starting to see that the prices of other concrete buildings in vastly superior locations are starting to approach $300 psf. If this is the case, VP buyers won't be able to close because the appraisals won't be high enough. Also, you have to figure that a good majority of the buyers were counting on low down payment loans. Those don't exist anymore.

VP will be ugly in the next 12 months.

I don't think developers are doing a good job of marketing their product. This is the information age... when info on resale units are easily accessible on the MLS or on Lew Breeze's site... well, new units from developers are comparatively no where to be seen. I'd suggest they'd have much more success if they provided more valuable info on the web that lists the particulars of each unit; price, sq feet, bedrroms and bathrooms, floor, view, pictures, ect.

$300 per sq foot.... I woldn't be suprised at all if more units reach that figure. A handful of resale units already have per Lew Breeze's site; however, they are probably of the lower quality buildings. Actually, I don't know which are high or low quality. I understand Aqua Vista, Palermo, Park Blvd East (west too?) and convesions are considered lower quality.

300 dollars per sq. foot?? What are you talking about? I thought that it costs 300 dollars per foot to build these high rise units so how could they sell for that?

I'm not seeing where any profit could be made by selling them at that price. Or were you talking about construction costs? Thanks.