north park failed condo conversion

From voiceofsandiego.com:

4525 Florida Street sold in March 2004 for $2.1 million to an investor who planned on converting the property to condos. The investor spent tens of thousands of dollars getting the building permitted for condos but then decided to bail on the project as the condo market slumped. He then sold the property as an apartment building in May 2006 for $1.7 million -- netting a loss of at least $365,000.

sounds like the condo conversion market is cooling way down. here's a google map of the project above.

i know folks need affordable rental housing, but north park was among the most affected communities by the building of amazingly ugly "six-pack" apartment buildings during the 70's and 80's. these conversions have at least improved the look of the neighborhood, and attracted folks who are probably more attached to their community since they own a home there. hopefully the north park turnaround can continue regardless of the health of the condo conversion market.

quality of life

there's an interesting blog post about ditching your mortgage in the suburbs to rent in a more urban neighborhood in san diego. although point loma isn't quite "urban", it does offer several of the same benefits that contribute to one's quality of life. walkable neighborhoods, locally-owned restaurants, and proximity to all of the resources downtown. a great read.

i've lived in various parts of the east coast, but san diego, to me personally, is far and away the best place i've lived in. i'm hoping to stay here for the rest of my career because i like it so much. of course i enjoy the weather and the natural beauty of the area, but living in a neighborhood where i feel comfortable is a big part of that. why move to san diego if you have to drive 20 or 30 minutes to get to the things you enjoy? or to live in a neighborhood where people would rather watch their big-screen tv's than interact with their neighbors once in a while? but i understand that people have families to raise, and the suburbs offer many benefits for that.

the author is dead-on about the money issue, too. it seems many suburbanites are more interested in the value of their home investment than the value of the community in their neighborhood.

caffe forte and crazy burger

north park has its share of unique and independent coffee shops, including lestat's and cafe calabria. several new starbucks also opened in the past few months, with one in the renovated north park theater. caffe forte, which recently opened at 3139 University Ave, a few blocks east of the galleries on Ray Street, is a great addition to the north park cafe scene.

we stopped in for lunch around noon today on this record-breaking hot day, with the temperature over 100. the air conditioned interior was a welcome change from the intense heat. caffe forte has a wide deli sandwich selection, and they sell deli meats by the pound. my italian hero was stacked full of delicious ham and genoa salami, and came with some tasty dressing on a few leaves of lettuce with pine nuts. we really enjoyed our meal. the resturant is connected to the art produce gallery next door, so you can check out some local art after your coffee or lunch. it's really encouraging to see the cafe scene thriving in north park as part of the neighborhood's turnaround.

tioli's crazy burger, located at 4201 30th Street, was our dinner pick tonight and we again enjoyed excellent, inexpensive burgers. The burgers are really juicy and the fries are addictive. tioli's was an italian restaurant until several months ago, but the change appears to be successful.

i'm looking forward to hitting these and other cafes and restaurants when i bike through north park on my way to and from downtown, but for now it'll have to be by car - it's too hot to bike.

fahrenheit condo building

one of the more unique condo buildings downtown is fahrenheit, pictured above. we have a friend, beau, who lives there with his 2 cute pugs. the interior hallways really set a futuristic mood - they're very dimly lit, with lighted unit numbers on big square signs outside each door. his loft has one window - the entire west side of the unit, which opens onto a good-size patio.

several of the condo projects downtown have interesting design elements. it's nice to see some thought put into these buildings, since they're making such an impact on the san diego skyline.

kensington photos

kensington has a great variety of homes, many of which were built in the late 1920's. check out some photos of the neighborhood.

i really enjoy walking the streets of kensington and checking out the houses and gardens. over the past several years many homes have been renovated. the northern part of town is more suburban, with larger homes and winding roads. but the section around and to the south of adams has a standard city grid layout. it's great for biking since the cars don't travel too fast, and i can get to balboa park or downtown within 15-20 minutes. i'd be afraid to bike in many of the suburban communities of san diego with their wide 60 mph feeder streets. of course, it's been too hot to bike recently, but you can comfortably bike around here at least 3/4 of the year.

san diego development thread on skyscrapercity.com

there's a good forum thread on san diego development news on the urban forum site skyscrapercity.com. check out some fresh pics of downtown from the top of the hyatt building on harbor drive posted by my partner jay.

301 university

the san diego city council will be voting on a proposed 8 story condominium project, 301 university, on july 16. the project is controversial because its height is out of scale with the area. city beat has a write-up on the situation, as does glt

hola

well the sdurban.com blog is up, where i'll be blogging about life in the urban neighborhoods of san diego. i live in kensington, which is a few miles northeast of downtown san diego. it's a walkable community with great old houses to live in, unique coffeeshops and restaurants to hang out in, and friendly people to hang out with. but it's just one of many urban neighborhoods in the city that each possess their own unique character, and i'm looking forward to posting pictures, articles and my own thoughts about them.

i've lived in kensington since july of 2000, and it's been encouraging to see all the positive changes to the main street of the neighborhood, adams ave. several restaurants have either opened or improved since then. the independent coffee shop, kensington cafe, has been remodeled and is now san diego coffee, tea and spice at kensington. ponce's, the mexican restaurant, was remodeled and expanded, and there's a great patio out front to dine on. a dessert place, just fabulous, opened and is a big step forward from the restaurant that occupied the space.

what's great about these places, for me, is being able to walk to them. no more driving everywhere, which i did when i first moved to san diego (scripps ranch, then poway) in 1998. they're actually just around the corner and up the street from my house, shown above.

more kensington thoughts to come.