that sinking feeling

that's the headline of a recent business week cover story about the deflating housing market, and how many homebuilders are slashing prices as a result. today's union tribune article gives a local perspective on things, and focuses on the downtown condo situation.

there's an interesting section in the article concerning a buyer at the legend condo project (shown above) next to petco park, which began move-ins recently. he tried to pull out of his 1.4 million dollar penthouse purchase but was warned he could lose part of his down payment. so he's got a 6K/month mortgage on the new unit, is negatively amoritized on his house in del mar, and is a mortgage broker in an industry in a tailspin. he's hoping to find someone to lease his place to, but i'm guessing he won't get near 6K/month. needless to say, he's "struggling".

this sounds similar to a friend of ours who bought a million dollar unit there. from what i've heard there are some financial issues in his case too, possibly related to a couple of additional units he owns in the park west project nearby. my point is, these are the people who are buying condos downtown? throw in the recent ny times article on all the second-home buyers downtown, and it's a sobering picture. i'm excited about all the condo projects that are being completed now, but will there be anyone living in them once the banks come calling?

UPDATE: incorrect pic fixed, thanks commenter!

kensington burger lounge opens 10/17

jay stopped into burger lounge in la jolla today and found out that the kensington branch on adams avenue will be opening tomorrow. the prices are actually pretty reasonable - $7 for a "tallgrass beef" burger. interestingly, the la jolla location isn't much bigger than the small kensington one - i guess the emphasis is on quick ordering and eating, or just taking out. with web ordering on the way, this is going to be a very convenient option for us in a neighborhood that lacks any cheap/quick eats.

chow time

we finally got over to chow, alex thao's newest thai restaurant in the old celadon location on university. we were a bit early for lunch so we found ourselves in an empty restaurant. a very cheesy janet jackson song was on repeat, but we managed to ignore it enough to order drunken noodles, a basil chicken dish, and some pork potstickers that were perfectly fried. the noodles were great - full of flavor, but i'm sure the thai food purists would complain about their lack of hot spices. the chicken dish was a step down on the flavor scale, but still good in an understated way. and i enjoyed my unsweetened raspberry iced tea, which didn't require any sugar help.

service was friendly, and the place did fill about halfway by the time we left. i really like the clean, warm interior, and it's fun to watch folks passing by through the open windows facing university. based on one visit each, i'd probably have to rank celadon (in its new location) a bit higher, both for the decor and food. but the prices are a bit higher there too.

restaurant changes

we went for a drive saturday and couldn't believe all the new restaurants going in to north park. as we headed down 30th, we noticed the new ritual tavern, which i heard good things about from someone at work. the place looks great from the outside, and the old world pub thing they have going on is fairly unique for san diego.

on the ground floor of la boheme, there's a big sign proclaiming the soon-to-open arrivederci. this seems like the perfect fit for that location - except for the presence of apertivo across the street.

after crossing university, heading south, we noticed the new urban solace restaurant next door to shooters, with its french-quarter style exterior. however, according to the chowhound thread, the fare won't be cajun or french, but rather "new american comfort food". and it sounds like the interior is as well-polished as the exterior.

further south, commonwealth cafe is finally open! we would have stopped in but it was a few minutes before their noon opening time...

there's a new restaurant going in next door to zensei sushi where 30th zigzags at upas, but the name escapes me now. and it looks like something's going in just south of alexander's across from zensei. speaking of sushi, north park scene says north park sushi will be opening soon on university, and we saw the new sign as we headed down university to hillcrest.

over in hillcrest, is that pinkberry in the old pb home and garden ever going to open? it's still fenced off...

at university and third, say goodbye to brazil on the hill (which won't be missed) and hello to seasons 142. not much up on yelp yet, but apparently it's a seasonal concept, where even the interior walls will change with the seasons. just keep the heat turned on in the winter please...

diegan/setai condotel returns deposits

according to an unconfirmed report in the san diego business journal, the diegan hotel is returning the deposits of owners who bought the living/rental units and going to an all-hotel business model. it's part of an article on the demise of the condotel trend, which also points to the isolated success of the new hard rock hotel downtown, and the new hotel del coronado beachfront units. ahh condotel we hardly knew ye. but given the downturn in the second home market, which is related to the subprime lending meltdown, it's not surprising that demand has dried up for these projects.

the article also mentions that the diegan is now the setai, which is the name of its new management company. which is too bad - the name was one of the neatest things about this project.

(update, 11/07/2007: image above was diamond view, not setai. fixed.)

hillcrest named top 10 great neighborhood

the american planning association has named hillcrest one of the 10 best neighborhoods in the country. it's got some esteemed company - north beach in sf, park slope in brooklyn, and old west austin - so this says a lot about the quality of the neighborhood. the apa cites hillcrest's walkability, residential architecture, and diversity among the reasons for its inclusion.

rather than re-hash the article, i'm going to list what i like about hillcrest:

- the gays: having lived in cities with little or no gay population, it's a welcome feeling to be able to go out to dinner with my partner and not feel like you're making other people uncomfortable. while it's not a big deal, it's certainly more welcoming in hillcrest than say, poway, to hang out in public. which leads to:

- the eats: hash house, tractor room, celadon, amarin thai, taste of thai, ono sushi, ranoosh, mama testa's, extraordinary deserts. and the ones we haven't tried yet, but have heard are good: chow, ortega's.

- balboa park: one of the best urban parks i've experienced, with interesting architecture, museums, and lots of room to bike and relax. the cactus and rose gardens are a real highlight, and apparently there's a famous zoo there too.

- the homes in banker's hill are pretty amazing, and they're in a neighborhood with some funky canyon pedestrian bridges.

like any neighborhood, there's always room for improvement though. like:

- university ave. east of 163: while there's some new businesses going in, like universal lounge/restaurant, there are still empty stretches that deter walking. hopefully that will improve, but i'd like to see the street narrowed and made more pedestrian friendly.

- 5th and 6th heading to/from downtown - do we really need three one-way lanes on each of these? they're usually empty, and way pedestrian-unfriendly.

- how about a cheap trolley route that circles the neighborhood to span some of the more unwalkable distances? one can dream, i guess.

anyway, i'm proud to live near a neighborhood that would make a list like this one. it's one of the many great things about living in san diego.