Doma San Diego, California
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doma San Diego, California Project Type: Residential Case No: C035009 Year: 2005 SUMMARY doma is a 121-unit, market-rate condominium building that comprises lofts, flats, and townhouses ranging in size from 725 to 1,600 square feet (67.4 to 176.5 square meters). The block-sized project combines two distinct design typologies: a modern, eight-story industrial-themed concrete structure on one end of the site and a more traditional four-story wood-frame townhouse component at the other. Located in the Little Italy neighborhood of downtown San Diego, it was designed with mid- to high-end buyers in mind—the building includes open space, top-of-the-line appliances, granite countertops, and ample deck space. Eight of the townhouses are “shopkeeper units” in which the living space is placed directly above a storefront. FEATURES Transit-oriented development Mid-rise building doma San Diego, California Project Type: Residential Subcategory: Multifamily Volume 35 Number 09 April–June 2005 Case Number: C035009 PROJECT TYPE doma is a 121-unit, market-rate condominium building that comprises lofts, flats, and townhouses ranging in size from 725 to 1,600 square feet (67.4 to 176.5 square meters). The block-sized project combines two distinct design typologies: a modern, eight-story industrial-themed concrete structure on one end of the site and a more traditional four-story wood-frame townhouse component at the other. Located in the Little Italy neighborhood of downtown San Diego, it was designed with mid- to high-end buyers in mind—the building includes open space, top-of-the-line appliances, granite countertops, and ample deck space. Eight of the townhouses are “shopkeeper units” in which the living space is placed directly above a storefront. LOCATION Central Business District SITE SIZE 1.38 acres/0.56 hectare LAND USES Downtown Housing, Condominiums, Townhouses, Multifamily Housing, Loft Housing KEYWORDS/SPECIAL FEATURES Transit-oriented development Mid-rise building DEVELOPER CityMark Development 701 B Street, Suite 1100 San Diego, California 92101 619-231-1161 Fax: 619-235-4691 www.citymarkdev.com ARCHITECT Martinez + Cutri 750 B Street, Suite 1700 San Diego, California 92101 619-233-4857 Fax: 619-233-7417 www.mc-architects.com PLANNER Project Design Consultants 701 B Street, Suite 800 San Diego, California 92101 619-235-6471 Fax: 619-234-0849 www.projectdesign.com LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Deneen Powell Atelier 2805 El Cajon Boulevard San Diego, California 92104 619-294-9042 Fax: 619-294-9028 www.dpadesign.com GENERAL DESCRIPTION A block-sized mid rise that includes units in townhouse, loft, and flat configurations, doma is among the first of a wave of new urban housing projects in downtown San Diego. The structure stands between an arterial street and a trolley line in a traditional pedestrian-scale community. It combines two distinct design typologies, with a modern, eight-story concrete loft structure on one side of the block and a more traditional four-story wood-frame townhouse section on the other. The latter showcases the historic asset of a restored art deco–style store and clock tower on the corner of the site. Targeting mid- to high-end buyers, the 121 market-rate condominiums in doma range in size from 725 to 1,900 square feet (67.4 to 176.5 square meters). In addition to lofts, flats, and townhouses, the development contains eight “shopkeeper” units, with living space over storefronts. To compete successfully within a burgeoning market for urban housing in San Diego, the development team chose to invest in bold architectural features, a courtyard, high-quality materials, generous decks, high ceilings, and strong connections to the three adjacent pedestrian streets. SITE doma occupies a full block at the western edge of the Little Italy district of downtown San Diego. The neighborhood is named for a multigenerational Italian fishing enclave with a strong cultural heritage that continues to this day. Single-family homes, small apartment buildings, and family stores form the core of this walkable neighborhood, which city planners would like to perpetuate and expand. Nearby India Street has been improved as a pedestrian paseo, and is now dotted with outdoor cafés and restaurants. The 60,000-square-foot (5,574-square-meter) site lies three blocks east of the San Diego harbor, 1.5 blocks from the trolley station and also near commuter rail and bus lines. It is bounded on the east by busy Kettner Boulevard and on the west by California Street, which holds a below-grade trolley corridor. The aforementioned landmark 1930s commercial building, with a clock tower and entrance on the corner, dominates the southeast corner of the block. At the meeting of two city street grids, the block is an irregular trapezoid, tapering toward the west and sloping down in that direction with a 15-foot (4.5-meter) grade change. These conditions allow for water views on three sides of the project. Along with the nearby bay, the building is positioned to offer views of La Jolla, Point Loma, Mission Hills, and the downtown skyline. While the two dead-end side streets, Date and Fir, are low-traffic view corridors, the bayside view corridor displays California Street and the trolley line in the foreground. As demand for downtown residential units increases, Little Italy is undergoing a transition that is balanced with an emphasis on neighborhood heritage, including the traditional Saturday street market and numerous festivals and community events. Well positioned to be a part of the life of the neighborhood, doma is close to the city’s office and commercial core. It also lies within blocks of Interstate 5, with easy access to most of the landmarks of the greater San Diego area. DEVELOPMENT CityMark, the developer of doma, is a San Diego–based company founded in 2000 by Rich Gustafson, president, with Vince Hoeningman, vice president, and Russ Haley, vice president and CFO. Gustafson and Haley grew up in San Diego and previously worked for Shea Homes’ San Diego division. Hoeningman, a San Francisco resident who holds a master’s degree in urban planning, has had a career in the software industry. doma is one of CityMark’s two initial downtown projects. Construction on a much smaller 16-unit townhouse project, located at nearby Cortez Hill, had just begun as design was being completed for doma in the fall of 2001. The firm also started and finished a townhouse development in the center of nearby La Mesa during the time that doma was under development. Prices throughout the southern California residential market have soared since 2000. Prior to that year, very little market-rate housing was available in downtown San Diego, and the full scope of demand for such housing was not anticipated by developers or the financial community. Since 2001, the year that CityMark acquired the site and sought financial partners for doma, the number of downtown market-rate housing units has tripled, with demand increasing exponentially. Then the events of September 11, 2001, stunned the financial community nationwide. As CityMark sought construction backing in the wake of the disaster, the project was turned down by 90 different potential equity partners. In addition to the historic events, the developers also found that the site location along a train track and the noise generated by passing trains were significant obstacles for lenders. The lenders, most of whom were based out of town, did not recognize that the trolley could be considered an amenity, and were unaware that many high-end projects were also located along the trolley lines. In the end, the project’s location at the edge of downtown San Diego and near the stretch of waterfront owned by the Port of San Diego proved to be strategically advantageous. With its local office, Comerica grasped the market potential for doma, and approved a construction loan for the project. Since the completion of doma, CityMark has gone on to develop three more mixed-use projects: M2i, a block-sized, 230-unit mixed-use loft building with ground-floor retail space near Petco Park (baseball); Fahrenheit, a 77-loft project with shopkeeper units; and the Egyptian, an 80-unit mixed-use development in the Hillcrest neighborhood to the north, which includes affordable housing. FINANCING As one of the first new urban infill projects in the neighborhood, doma carried inherently high financial risks and demanded strong commitment from backers. Over two years passed from the start of sales until the project was ready for move-in. With the San Diego urban residential market only in its early stages of growth and the unsettling events of September 11, 2001, third-party equity placement was difficult to find. CityMark initially funded the entire equity requirement. With construction underway and a healthy sales performance, Strand Capital, a Vancouver-based equity placement company, provided subordinated debt, which replaced much of the required equity in the project. A construction loan from Comerica was based on 65 percent of value and 80 percent of cost. The expectation for financial performance was a 30 percent internal rate of return, which was met and exceeded. The project was sold out before it was complete. Preferred mortgage lenders for finished units were Sterling Capital and Wells Fargo Mortgage. DESIGN Designed by Anthony Cutri—a partner in San Diego–based Martinez + Cutri Corporation, a firm whose portfolio includes institutional and urban design projects in addition to mixed-use and multifamily developments—doma is a blend of architectural styles. The north part of the block is occupied by a modern, eight-story cast-in-place concrete loft building. It faces the street with expansive loft windows and large decks. This section of doma is industrial in structure and concept, expressed in raw concrete and steel.