Downtown San Diego Condos and Loft home owners have had to deal with a lot the last 7 years. Talking about home values, homelessness especially in the East Village/Ballpark District, slow pace of creating new parks and other commercial projects, new condo development and so on. As a home owner…at the end of the day…the dream of an urban paradise seems to be glimpsing its possibilities once again.

For Phil and Joan Mendelson who bought at The Mark in the East Village/Ballpark District in Downtown San Diego four weeks ago…says “that this is everything they want”. They moved here from New York City and could not get over the inexpensive prices. They bought a 27th floor condo where a similar one in New York would cost $3 to $4 million. They have an amazing view over Downtown San Diego the San Diego Bay, the mountains to the East, Point Loma and planes coming in for landing. They totally say….they can’t believe they are here to this price…

To read more visit the Union Tribune and Michael Stetz original article Downtown condo owners hope the worst is over.

Would you like to open your business at the San Diego Airport in Downtown San Diego for the opportunity to reach 8.5 million travelers?

Airport officials are planning to offer leases to 14 different companies at the Terminal 2 concessions area, which will be remodeled by 2014 as part of the Green Build.

Here are some things to keep in mind…

General requirements

• Must be a business that has demonstrated expertise in the development and operation of food service and/or retail establishments at airports or other transportation centers, shopping centers, malls, or metropolitan or suburban areas.
• Have a minimum of 3 years’ prior experience within the last 5 years on such projects.
• Be able to deal with fluctuating traffic because of factors such as airport construction projects, changes in airline traffic and airport security requirements.
• Accept at least 3 major credit cards.
• Must be open 365 days a year. Basic hours of operation may vary from 5 a.m. to midnight, depending on service concept and flight schedules.

Facilities & operation

• Restaurant or shop must be designed to accommodate passengers, their luggage and strollers.
• Deliveries have to be scheduled and screened, and employees must have badges reflecting security clearance.
• Your operating costs for trash service, insurance and other expenses will be up to 30 percent higher than those for comparable locations. But your sales per square foot will be typically two to three times higher than in most regional shopping centers.

Food service

• Passengers often travel across time zones; therefore, a full menu should be available at all times.
• Customers must be served quickly. This constraint must be taken into consideration when menus and point-of-sale areas are developed.
• You may be asked to provide a sample of your proposed to-go packaging materials.
• Restaurants are encouraged but not required to incorporate environmentally friendly, local and healthy ingredients. Some examples include organic California produce, antibiotic-free meat and fair-trade coffee.

To read 92101 Urban Living’s former blog about the airport click on San Diego International Airport - is Getting a Facelift and to learn more about the project click on San Diego International Airport .

The S’e San Diego Hotel located in the Gaslamp District in Downtown San Diego is on the market looking for a new owner. When the hotel opened in 2008 the economy wasn’t that great and the developer was forced to bankruptcy. What is unclear at this time is…if it sells who will receive the money?

5th Avenue Partners LLC is the hotels owner and they had hoped to have had the hotel up for sale earlier this year but had first to talk to creditors who raised their objections and who felt that the hotel had not been properly consulted on the sales process. Last week, a judge approved the owners request to hire a broker and get it up on the market.

To read more about this visit the Union Tribune and the article S’e San Diego Hotel in Downtown San Diego is Looking for a New Owner.

In a recent meeting to honor individuals in the tourism industry, Mayor Sanders told the group that he expects the Downtown San Diego hotels in the Marina District to play a large part in the financing of the proposed $700 million expansion of the San Diego Convention Center located right next to the waterfront. This would probably be accomplished by adding a surtax to the hotel rooms and paid for by our visiting tourists. It was suggested that he hotels located closer to the Convention Center share a larger burden of the costs compared to those Downtown hotels further away from the Marina District.

To read 92101 Urban Living’s former blogs about the project click on Lead Architect Selected for the Downtown San Diego Convention Center Expansion and San Diego Convention Center Expansion and Hotel Development Has Begun.

On Saturday, March 5th, downtown San Diego’s  Little Italy will celebrate its 8th annual Carnevale, mirrored after the infamous carnevale in Venice. Located on India Street, between Hawthorne and Cedar, crowds estimated at 12,000+ will congregate dressed in traditional Venetian Carnevale garb. The costume donned party goers will be there to enjoy various entertainment vignettes.The key to Carnevale is the Passaporto di Carnevale. This passport, which you can pick up on March 5th between 9am-1:30, lists times and locations for entertainment as well as a list of businesses where you must get your passport stamped. Must? Yah, why not? If you do, your passport will be entered to win a “Day in Little Italy”…details to come.As an owner of a downtown San Diego loft or condo, you should make your way down to this event at least once…and don’t forget to dress for the occasion!

The Sold by Price Range graph represents the Condos and Lofts sold, during the year of 2010, in Downtown San Diego.

1120 total homes were sold during 2010…where the price range of $300,000 - $500,000 lead the way with 426 (38%) homes sold. Not far behind was the price range of $300,000 and under with a total of 370 (33%) homes sold. 71% of the total sales were homes in the price range under $500,000 and the price range of $700,000k to $1,000,000 included 60% of developer sales. 

To read and compare 92101 Urban Living’s former blogs about the Downtown San Diego Real Estate Market click on Downtown San Diego Condos & Lofts Sold by Month - Jan to Dec 2010, Downtown San Diego Condos & Lofts Sold by Average Monthly Sale Price - Jan to Dec 2010, Downtown San Diego Condos & Lofts - 2009 to 2010 Comparison, Downtown San Diego Condos & Lofts Sold - Financing Breakdown - Jan to Dec 2010, Downtown San Diego Condos & Lofts Sold - Cash vs. Financing - Jan to Dec 2010, Downtown San Diego Condos & Lofts Sold by Type of Sale - Jan to Dec 2010 and Downtown San Diego Condos & Lofts Sold by Neighborhood - Jan to Dec 2010.

As an owner of a downtown San Diego loft or condo, you are familiar with our tourist population. You gotta love ‘em! You also gotta love the stuff tourists do…for instance, The Seal. Now, admit it, you’ve wanted to give it a try. I KNOW YOU HAVE.

So, I am proposing that all downtown San Diego residents try at least one “touristy” thing our city has to offer, that you wouldn’t normally do, but have really thought about doing. Make sense?

To kick off my “C’Mon…You Know You Want To” act like a tourist idea, here’s a bit of info you should know about The Seal Tour:

• It’s a land and water adventure
• 90 minutes, fully narrated
• Tour of San Diego’s streets THEN
• Cruise the San Diego Bay
• Learn about San Diego’s rich, military history
• Check out tons of California Sea Lions

Now, get out there and act like a tourist…I will if you will.

photo via guide.trustedtours.com

The Sold by Month graph represents the Condos and Lofts sold, during the year of 2010, in Downtown San Diego.

If you look at the Developer sales during the year…the line seems a little bumpy. Usually the homes sales at the end of the year always goes up because of different deals the developers offers to sell out their last homes. The developer sales during the year that contributed to the bumpy road were Atria in the Marina District, The Mark, Park Terrace and The Legend in the East Village/Ballpark District and Sapphire and Bayside in the Columbia District.

Resales did pretty good during the year as well as the REO/Bank owned homes with a pretty steady line. The short sales on the other hand had a big increase in May and June as well as in December. Actually…the short sales beat all the other sales with a total of 21 homes sold in October.

To read and compare 92101 Urban Living’s former blogs about the Downtown San Diego Real Estate Market click on Downtown San Diego Condos & Lofts Sold by Average Monthly Sale Price - Jan to Dec 2010, Downtown San Diego Condos & Lofts - 2009 to 2010 Comparison, Downtown San Diego Condos & Lofts Sold - Financing Breakdown - Jan to Dec 2010, Downtown San Diego Condos & Lofts Sold - Cash vs. Financing - Jan to Dec 2010, Downtown San Diego Condos & Lofts Sold by Type of Sale - Jan to Dec 2010 and Downtown San Diego Condos & Lofts Sold by Neighborhood - Jan to Dec 2010.

Would you like to be a part of and improve the East Village/Ballpark District’s side walk conditions? About once a month the Clean & Safe Program teams up with East Village property owners, Condos and Loft home owners, residents and law enforcement to walk the area and check out sidewalk conditions. These so called “East Village Walk Abouts” have been useful in pinpointing areas where more maintenance and/or safety resources are needed and identifying which public or private entity is responsible for responding.

If you want to find out more and attend a future “East Village Walk About,” or start one in your own Downtown San Diego neighborhood, e-mail the Clean & Safe Program at info@downtownsandiego.org and they will be happy to work with you you to set one up.

To read 92101 Urban Living’s former blogs about the Clean & Safe Program click on “Green Machines” are Making Downtown San Diego Spotless… and Who Keeps the Gaslamp District in Downtown San Diego Clean & Safe?

The Average Monthly Sales Price graph represents the Condos and Lofts sold, during the year of 2010, in Downtown San Diego.

There was  a decline in the monthly average price during April of 2010…this is most likely beacuse the Home Buyer Credit ended at the end of the month. Other than that the year seemed to be going pretty steady with an average price around the $450,000 range.

To read and compare 92101 Urban Living’s former blogs about the Downtown San Diego Real Estate Market click on Downtown San Diego Condos & Lofts - 2009 to 2010 Comparison, Downtown San Diego Condos & Lofts Sold - Financing Breakdown - Jan to Dec 2010, Downtown San Diego Condos & Lofts Sold - Cash vs. Financing - Jan to Dec 2010, Downtown San Diego Condos & Lofts Sold by Type of Sale - Jan to Dec 2010 and Downtown San Diego Condos & Lofts Sold by Neighborhood - Jan to Dec 2010.