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Anonymous
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| 02/16/2007 2:37 PM |
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Check out the approved new building for the El Cortez site.
From the Union Tribune:
DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO – An 18-story modern glass tower may rise next to the historic El Cortez building, after the city's downtown redevelopment board gave the initial thumbs-up yesterday to a new design from developer J. Peter Block Cos.
Some Cortez Hill residents fighting any development of that site were dismayed at the choice, saying the curved glass residential tower will infringe on El Cortez's iconic place in the downtown skyline.
“It just doesn't belong on the site. It's too big, too close,” said Rita Collier, coordinator of the Cortez Neighbors group. “It doesn't 'dialogue' at it, it shouts at it.”
The downtown redevelopment board said a modern building is a good fit because it won't compete with El Cortez's historic look. The 17-story building, opened in 1927 as a hotel, is on the National Register of Historic Places.
“I favor the contrasting architecture,” said Centre City Development Corp. board member Jennifer LeSar, who, like others, praised the proposed look as “very exciting.”
The top floor would house a “sky room,” harkening back to a one-time El Cortez lounge of the same name.
“We're desperate here for exciting architecture,” LeSar said.
The developer still needs to flesh out design details, get formal approval from the downtown board and eventually go before the San Diego City Council for the last word. Some Cortez Hill residents have challenged the developer's right to build on the site, and lawsuits have been filed against the development company and the city.
The Centre City board moved the project a step forward in green-lighting the modern look and the size, as opposed to a more traditional-looking 11-story brick building also under consideration.
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In doing so, the board bucked advice from its own staff, which recommended capping the building at seven or eight stories, and an outside architecture consultant. Santa Monica architect Gwynne Pugh told the board, in a letter, that a “more neutral background approach” and shorter height would be more proper in a modern design.
The lone dissenter on the board was Wayne Raffesberger, who said he couldn't support the proposed 180-foot height. Raffesberger said he was “troubled” at the idea of the two building tops side by side. The lighted red letters atop the El Cortez building are a hallmark of the nighttime skyline.
Other board members supported the size, with minor revisions, but suggested slimming down the base of the building. As proposed, the structure has wings of five and eight stories on the sides of the main tower.
A spokesman for J. Peter Block Cos. said if approvals go smoothly the project could start in mid-2008 and be completed in 2010.
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Smith
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| 02/17/2007 12:28 AM |
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| That looks better than the other proposal which was rather blah looking. I also like the pool. I wonder if the El Cortez people will have access to it, their pool is going away as part of this project... |
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Anonymous
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| 02/17/2007 3:32 PM |
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| That's perfect placement of the pool just like Solara Tower which is a few blocks west of the new building. The pool will get max sun and be a great resource for the community in the building. |
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downtown dude
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| 02/17/2007 9:15 PM |
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It’s nice to see this lot will not be wasted on an 8 story low rise. Due to all the low rises and row homes going in, Cortez Hill has a deficiency of towers. A modern 18-story tower near the center would go a long way to correct that. The Hill also badly needs more retail, which is planned for this project. With the loss of Spice House Cafe to Aria there’s actually less retail today than a few years ago. In addition to the street level retail, they’re planning a new Sky Room at the top to replace the one in the El Cortez that was eliminated during its renovation.
Very nice. |
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anon.
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| 03/16/2007 4:07 PM |
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| The pool at El Cortez is not owned by the HOA, it belongs to the developer just as the open area that is being proposed for the new building thus El Cortez would loose the pool. El Cortez btw is in legal battles with the developer 1-leaky windows/doors wrecking havoc (I was recently in the building and there were sandbags by the doors) 2-when the HOA went to fix the leaks there was not enough $, 3-the developer made an agreement with the HOA that he would never build on the open site. Big problems - the HOA dues have increased ($600+) and more increases are probably on the way just to pay the legal bills. And the only units for sell are all Bank Owned and no lender will fund on a condo unit where the HOA has pending lawsuits especially building defects causing the value of the units to drop if they are un-sellable. |
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Cortez Hill Resident
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| 03/22/2007 4:17 PM |
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| Downtown Dude, "Lot wasted?" You've got to be kidding! The so called "lot" shouldn't have even been considered on an historically designated block - which CCDC helped the developer slip through without anyone mentioning that fact until it was done deal. "A deficiency of towers??" Double you've got to be kidding! Downtown is fast being ruined by a SURPLUS of towers that are mostly loved by developers, speculators (now leaving), and renters - not owner occupants. Cortez Hill has a great diversity of housing types that make it, for now, actually a liveable part of downtown. |
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LJ
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| 03/22/2007 4:42 PM |
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I like the new tower and I'm not a developer. Since when do we make decisions based solely on the desire of owner occupants?
There is no surplus of towers downtown, there was a surplus of easy money from Wall Street which is going away. I say keep building. Housing is becoming affordable again which is great. More supply = lower prices. You should never buy real estate with the investment potential as your main rationale. Greed never works and it doesn't build community either. The city needs more regular people and that means more housing. Let's leave the chronic NIMBYism out of Cortez Hill.
If you want to make Cortez Hill a better place welcome new development and retail and work hard to get the freeway caps put on the 5. That would hookup Cortez Hill with Balboa Park and make the noise from the freeway go away. Also work to make the streets safer by reporting any suspicious activity to the police. If you see anything that needs fixing report it to the Downtown Partnership:
http://www.dtsd.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/clean.home
There is even a web form to report problems! Gotta love technology. :)
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downtown dude
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| 03/23/2007 8:16 PM |
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Downtowns are defined by towers. It's fair to say most people who like downtown, like the towers, and all the benefits of the densities they bring - retail, cafes, walkable neighborhoods etc. If you showed up at just about any downtown neighborhood discussion (CCAC, neighborhood watch, project reviews, etc.) and said downtown has a surplus of towers, you'd be in a very distinct minority.
Having lived here for 8 years, going to the local pubs and neighborhood hangouts, talking with neighbors, etc., it's clear to me people like city living, especially living high above the streets with views you could never dream of in the suburbs. The biggest problem is compared to cities like Vancouver and San Fran, we still haven't "grown up". We still lack the truly cosmopolitan feel that more towers and more density will bring.
So yes, that lot would be wasted with yet another low rise, especially with 4-story Heritage on 2 sides, and a 4-story budget hotel on another. |
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Anonymous
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| 03/23/2007 10:21 PM |
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I think the key factor is that once people buy a home, Downtown or in the suburbs, their main priority is protecting property values. They inherently understand that restricting supply protects the value of their units.
The job of urban planners and public officials is creating an environment that is beneficial to all residents.
I say keep building. Keep the products and innovation coming so buyers and renters can afford a good home. That will keep our region vibrant and improve our standards of living -- not just mine or yours, but the whole region's population's. |
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stella
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| 03/24/2007 10:55 AM |
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I agree, also having a thriving downtown means that certain things that have not been financially feasible like the trolley and a lot of small business can actually start making financial sense. It is just not practical to restrict density anywhere in the city limits. Unless you are willing to practice population control you cannot rationally regulate density. The anti-density arguments need to be tossed completely out of the debate.
When buying a property downtown don't think that the contiguous uses are going to stay that same. |
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anon
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| 03/24/2007 8:02 PM |
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| It is interesting that Miss LaSar is quoted as saying, "we're desperate for exciting architecture". San Diego has some exciting architecture. One of the most famous is the historic El Cortez. Why build something that may damage the historic building? It appears the CCDC Board represents only the developer, NOT the citizens. |
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LJ
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| 03/24/2007 8:33 PM |
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I don't see any reason why LaSar could say that and have every bit of respect for the El Cortez while also wanting to create even more landmarks.
In NYC there are thousands of historic buildings right next to brand new ones. It's really not that big of a deal.
Using qualitative arguments like historical value and non-scientific environmental arguments are all that the anti-development people have, let's face it the vast majority of complaints are coming from the people who are going to have altered or lost views or didn't read their sales agreement when buying units from the El Cortez developer.
If those sales agreements said explicity that a building won't go in next door you have a great case. I highly doubt that's the case as if it were that cut and dried we'd be hearing about that specific fact. The reality was that during the time that building was sold there were plenty of people pushing their way to the front of the line to buy MULTIPLE units in the building. This is the nature of risk, if making money were so easy everyone would have been doing it.
I would put your energy into making sure that the current El Cortez residents can use that great looking pool that's going into the new tower. |
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downtown dude
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| 03/24/2007 10:13 PM |
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I highly doubt construction will proceed if there's a reasonable, demonstrable risk of damaging the El Cortez in a significant, irreparable way; concern for public safety alone would trump concerns of damaging a historic structure. Until critics can point to a concrete concern, they don't have a case -- vague, subjective concerns don't wash.
That said, I would agree that Lesar and CCDC in general do not have much regard for nimbys trying to protect their own investments and personal view paths.
It also appears to me that there are plenty of supporters of a second El Cortez tower, especially if the users of this website are at least somewhat representative of typical downtown residents. Perhaps these are the citizens CCDC represents. |
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Jon
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| 03/25/2007 11:42 AM |
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It sounds like El Cortez owners are desperate to find a way to prop up the value of their declining "investments." A home should be a home first and an investment second.
With all the towers going up now downtown, it'll be many years before current owners can sell for the windfall profits they were expecting.
Lets' build more towers and bring more people in so we can have thriving, fun downtown. That will benefit the City fo San Diego and the region as a whole. That's the best way to preserve property values in the long run.
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Smith
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| 03/25/2007 12:32 PM |
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I read a very interesting article in Barrons this weekend. The article focused on the fact that sales prices are still much higher than construction costs. In the past when this occurred people moved to cheaper areas in the country. This movement resulted in the wide margin between cost and sales price reducing to normal levels.
I do think that while some buildings will be canceled there will still be new buildings going up.
Regarding buyers of multiple units at El Cortez I was looking to rent around the time the building was converted into condos. I clearly recall talking to someone that owned a few units he was trying to rent. If I recall this person worked for Sempra Energy at the time. This investor has got to be in trouble at this stage. |
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Mexico Guy
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| 04/01/2007 4:41 PM |
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Take off the triangle structures on the west and east side of the structure and leave the historic pool where it is. Remove the top five stories of the building and then build it 40 feet from the"Old Point Loma Lighthouse"...then you have a winner!
[b] [/b] |
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Diegan
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| 04/01/2007 11:45 PM |
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Dropping the pool area triangle would reduce the much needed retail space this building offers Cortez Hill. While I'm not an architect or developer I also suspect that entire space needs to be excavated in order to provide parking for the new homeowners so you might as well build some space on top parking.
Other than living with the noise while this building goes up (I've done that several times) I don't see how this building is bad for even the current El Cortez owners. This should improve nearly everyone short of a micro minority of people that are going to lose their North view or a minor view decrease for a few of the people at Discovery.
This is not a big deal from a project point of view. That said I'm not factoring in the emotion people have against the developer/sales tactics of the people that sold the initial condos at El Cortez. I'm sure there are some unhappy people based on the performance of the market in general and their units in particular.
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downtown_dude
Posts:44
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| 10/06/2007 8:35 PM |
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They've updated the rendering of 777 Beech, the tower going up next to El Cortez. Very nice, contemporary design, however I'd like to see something more significant (taller) like the original mockup (above) showed.
I will say I'm glad I didn't buy into the El Cortez -- there are buildings going up all around it. Besides this one, there's Cortez Blu kitty-corner, Aria to the East, the 18-story hotel immediately south, and probably a tower to across the street to the west once the demolition cranes get to that old Holiday Inn Express.
The Hill was ripe for development and the El Cortez is right in the middle. It's been a terrible investment, but you could score a good deal there once all the towers are built up around it.
I only wish the hotel would be taller.
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Jenny
Posts:5
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| 10/23/2008 9:34 PM |
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| Will this be built? City Council, acting as the Redevelopment Agency, will decide on October 28th at 2 pm. Go to www.elcortez.info for more infomation. |
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