22-Story Tower Will Stand Out on S.D. Skyline

Plans for a $70-million downtown office and retail tower to be built in an architecturally distinctive crystalline shape were unveiled Wednesday by a Rhode Island-based development firm.

The 22-story Tower at San Diego project, expected to be under construction this fall, will include about 328,000 square feet of office space and about 33,000 square feet of retail space, according to officials of the Centre City Development Corp., the city’s redevelopment arm. The office and retail tower, to be built on the block bounded by B, C, India and Columbia streets, is scheduled to be completed in December, 1986.

The six-sided polished granite and glass tower also will include three levels of parking, in the basement and on the second and third floors, and retail space on the first floor, according to developer Trevor Davis, president of the Davis Real Estate and Development Group. A roof garden will be on the fourth floor, and there will be 18 floors of office space.

In addition to its crystalline exterior, the structure will feature a pyramid-shaped roof that “will provide a distinctive variation from the present San Diego skyline,” said Gerald M. Trimble, CCDC’s executive vice president.

The tower’s ground-level retail space will be separated from the street by an arcade and a series of arches reminiscent of the architectural style of the Santa Fe Depot and Balboa Park, Trimble said.

Because the project is a private one involving no public funds, CCDC’s role is limited to reviewing the design. The redevelopment agency is expected to review the project at a meeting Friday.

The project is a joint venture of Davis’ company, based in Providence, R.I., and JMB Mortgage Partners Limited, a subsidiary of the JMB Realty Corp. of Chicago.