Twin Towers, Hotel on Lower Broadway : $200-Million Downtown Complex Endorsed by CCDC

A sweeping, $200-million development for three blocks along lower Broadway received the backing Wednesday of the directors of the Centre City Development Corp.

The project, proposed by a partnership of Koll Co. and Shapell Housing Inc.-Goldrich Kest & Associates, will include twin 20- to 25-story office towers, a 335-room hotel, and other retail and commercial structures.

The area, bounded by Broadway, Kettner Boulevard and E and State streets, was the site of several adult entertainment establishments before being purchased by the CCDC in 1982 for $6.1 million and cleared of structures.

Now, the agency, which oversees downtown redevelopment, is prepared to resell it to the partnership for $12 million in what CCDC Executive Vice President Gerald Trimble hailed as a “major step in the lower Broadway revitalization program.”

In accepting the project in concept, the CCDC board also voted, 4-3, to encourage the partnership to include at least 16 residential units in the complex if that is economically feasible. The board members asked the developers to return to their Jan. 3 board meeting to report on whether the residential units could be built.

“We are very fortunate to have this project before us,” said Peter Q. Davis, CCDC board president. “Nothing has happened down there on that block, and it’s our responsibility to clean up south Broadway. This is a workable solution to getting rid of the blight in that area.”

With the money from the land sale, Trimble said, CCDC will aim at clearing the “last remaning problem frontage on Broadway” by acquiring land on Broadway between Union and Columbia streets.

The Koll Co., which owns the Wells Fargo Bank Building and the Central Savings Tower, is the largest landlord in downtown San Diego. Shapell-Goldrich is another major downtown landowner, and has developed the Marina Park residential condominiums and Columbia Towers apartments for senior citizens. The architects who designed the Wells Fargo Building have been retained to design the two new office towers.

“From an urban design standpoint, this project is at the critical core of the city, and will be the ideal link to the current downtown development and what’s happening in the future down at the waterfront,” said Biff Porter, development manager for Koll.

As endorsed by the CCDC’s board of directors, the development would be built in stages, first being one of the office towers. The tower would include 300,000 square feet of office space, restaurants, commercial space, a health club and parking.

If a commitment from a hotel operator is secured in time, the 335-room hotel would also be built during the first phase. Developers say they hope to have this first phase completed by mid-1988.

The second office tower, which is to include at least 175,000 square feet of leasable space, would be built later.

“We expect this project to be the jewel of the Columbia Redevelopment Project,” said Bernie Fipp, Koll’s president. “The master plan for the project calls for a distinctive public plaza area that encourages pedestrian traffic . . . and a gracefully designed street-scape along the 750-foot Broadway frontage.”

While the seven members of the CCDC board were unanimous in their support of the project, they split on the question of whether at least 16 housing units should be included in the plans. Residents of two downtown condominium complexes, Marina Park and nearby Park Row, were also on record as asking for the residential units.

“We’re asking that you explore the housing situation, because we’re not willing to write it off as an impossibility at this point,” said board member William Hillyer.

Board member Jan Anton, however, said, “I don’t want the project tied up by a requirement that housing has to be included.”

And Davis, who voted against asking the developer to explore the possibility of residential units, said: “We’re not turning our back on housing if there is no residential development. The revenue from this project would help us find a source for more downtown housing.”

Porter said the developers are “prepared to build at least 16 units of housing on the site, if that’s what the board ultimately decides that it wants. But our earlier findings indicated that we would need a $500,000 subsidy from CCDC or somebody to do a large-scale residential project at the site.”

The City Council, sitting as San Diego’s redevelopment agency, will hold a public hearing on the project Jan. 14, and could approve the plans that same day.

Under the current agreement, the developers have until July 1, 1987, to begin work on the first phase of the project, although that date could be changed by the council, which must ultimately approve the plans. Koll officials said they hope to begin seeking prospective tenants for the office space within 90 days, and break ground within one year.