Little Italy 36-story apartment complex approved

A 36-story apartment building with nearly 400 apartments is coming to Little Italy.

Civic San Diego, downtown’s planning agency, Wednesday unanimously approved the complex at the intersection of Union and Ash streets. At around 400 feet, the building will be one of the tallest residential towers in the city. It will also have the most apartments in one complex for downtown at 395 units.

Amenities include a gym, outdoor pet area, 16,600 square feet of common outdoor space, sky deck and rooftop pool. Construction is set to begin by the end of 2019.

Dallas-based developers Trammell Crow Residential plan for 403 parking spaces in three underground levels and four above-grade levels. It is estimated the project will create 404 construction jobs and eight permanent jobs. Trammell Crow declined to give a cost estimate of the project.

Jessica Cassolato, development associate at Trammell Crow, said the company is pleased to have another Alexan brand tower downtown. Its other downtown building, Alexan ALX, opened in early 2018.

“We are really excited to bring our signature building to San Diego,” she said.

The project site is at 232 West Ash Street, a single-story commercial building occupied by charter school IDEATE High Academy and office space. The project will include 32 subsidized units for low-income renters.

The project also plans 70 studios (average 572 square feet), 223 one bedrooms (average 730 square feet), 97 two bedrooms (average 1,088 square feet) and five three-bedroom apartments (average 1,525 square feet).

No commercial space is proposed for street level. Instead plans call for tenant services such as a business center, lounge, speakeasy-style bar and bike storage.

Design for the building comes from San Diego-based Joseph Wong Design Associates, which said the project will strive for “sustainability across all spectrums, including economic vitality, environment, and social and cultural vibrancy.”

Civic San Diego also reviewed two other residential projects:

13th and Broadway

A $140 million subsidized housing project at 13th Street and Broadway in East Village that would include 273 apartments for low-income renters was unanimously approved and sent to the city council.

The Chelsea Investment Corp.’s 14-story building will have 65 parking spaces, which is less than the number of units allowed because of waivers for low-income housing.

Approval was nearly sidetracked by roughly 45 members of the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters who used public comments to allege Chelsea had a history of hiring out-of-town laborers.

While some directors said they sympathized with workers, they noted it was only a design hearing on the project and beyond the scope of the agency to stop the project based on labor issues. The Chelsea representative at the meeting, project manager Steven Blanden, was unable to answer many of the board’s questions, saying some decisions were “above (his) pay grade.”

When asked by a director if past labor concerns on other projects had been addressed, Blanden said he didn’t know. However, he later said his understanding was that the company does local outreach to hire workers and pays prevailing wage.

The board sent the project on to the city council — with the caveat Chelsea meets with the union — for review in January or February.

Jefferson Makers Quarter

A roughly $180 million project that didn’t go over well with Civic San Diego’s design committee in September was back in front of the entire board, and this time it was approved. The committee said the original JPI project did not contain enough housing because it took up an entire city block in East Village.

The site could hold more than 900 apartments but JPI was proposing 318. Also, the original plan included no subsidized housing in the building. The site is 12,000-square-feet and is a full block bounded by Broadway, 15th, 16th and E streets.

A new proposal from JPI added an extra story to the project and 50 more apartments, as well as 19 subsidized apartments for low-income renters. It also includes 425 parking spots in 3 ½ floors of underground parking.

The project got letters of support from the East Village Association, Downtown San Diego Partnership and San Diego Chief of Police David Nisleit.

Director Michael Jenkins was the only member of the board to vote against the project because he said it did not have enough apartments for the site.

“This is a lost opportunity,” he said. “This is a full block and going to higher density could make a significant difference.”

Chairman Phil Rath, who also said he was upset with the number of apartments, argued the JPI project falls within the minimums allowed in the community plan for density and should be approved. He suggested the law be changed to increase density before the board starts denying projects that are within the set range.

phillip.molnar@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1891 Twitter: @phillipmolnar

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