Builders Get $124-Million Symphony Towers Loan
The developers of the 1.1-million-square-foot Symphony Towers downtown received their $124-million construction loan Wednesday, clearing the way for the building of what will be San Diego’s tallest office building.
Charlton Raynd Development Co. received the two-year loan from a consortium of lending institutions led by California First Bank and its parent, Bank of Tokyo Ltd. The project, to be built in the block bounded by A and B streets and 7th and 8th avenues, will be built around and over Symphony Hall. The concert hall will remain in use by the San Diego Symphony and other performers during construction.
The project’s centerpiece is a 34-story, 521,000-square-foot office building that is 35% leased to tenants including KMPG Peat Marwick accountants; the Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher law firm, and AT&T.; Construction is set to begin today with the drilling of 100 concrete and steel caissons to reinforce the foundation. The project also includes a 24-story, 210-suite hotel to be operated by Marriott Corp.
Rumors Put to Rest
The recording of the loan Wednesday put to rest rumors that the project’s financing was in jeopardy. The rumors grew out of delays totaling several weeks that were caused by snags in drafting the loan document, Charlton Raynd general partner Douglas Wilson said. Shipment of the documents back and forth to Japan for approval of document language contributed to the delay, he said.
Completion of the office building is set for late 1988 with hotel completion to follow several months later, Wilson said. The office building will be 499 feet high, one foot under the Federal Aviation Administration’s maximum height for the area, Wilson said.
He said it was “coincidental” that the financing announcement came so close on the heels of Monday’s announcement that the San Diego Symphony will play an abbreviated season in Symphony Hall beginning this fall. Earlier this year, the symphony’s debts and the poor relations between musicians and management made a symphony season seem unlikely.
No Role in Talks
Charlton Raynd played no role in negotiations between the symphony board and the musicians, Wilson said.
Under the agreement signed three years ago that gave the symphony title to the old Fox Theater, Charlton Raynd said it would pay the symphony one cent per square foot per month of its office lease revenue for the first five years, rising to two cents per square foot per month after five years or when the building is fully occupied. The payments are similar to a “permanent endowment” to the symphony, the developer said.
The architects for the project are Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. The general contractor is Walsh Construction Co. Permanent financing will be provided through the Texas Retirement System.
