LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. Sometimes good things are worth waiting for...

         Savvy investors and opportunistic homeowners alike, agree  that Location, Location, Location is the cliche’ statement for a smart real estate purchase.  

    Interesting enough, Solara Lofts is located in a great location. 

 Approximately a 5 minute walk to the West is all the culture of Little Italy, a  5 minute walk to the South is the the excitement of the Historic Gaslamp Quarter, and a 5 minute walk to the North is Jewel of San Diego:  Balboa Park.  Solara Lofts is also incredibly accessible to the I-5 and 163 freeways, providing a convenient central location to any commute and is less impaired by traffic congestion than other Downtown locations. 

 Location, Location, Location.

In the not so distant future, Downtown’s Cortez Hill neighborhood is slated for some future improvement projects that will transform an already GREAT location, making it even better! 

We encourage you do do a little due diligence in your research for a new home.  A fantastic resource for what is happening in any particular Downtown neighborhood is CCDC (Center City Development Corporation).  CCDC is Downtown San Diego’s redevelopment arm, and you can visit their website where you can learn about future projects as well as public improvements to the Downtown neighborhoods.  A wealth of information can be learned by visiting this website:  http://www.ccdc.com/

Not only is location a major consideration for most savvy buyers, but so is TIMING.  Knowledge is power, and knowing what future developments are slated in your immediate neighborhood could be a contributing factor to increased property value.  Purchasing a home BEFORE all the public improvements have been made can be extremely beneficial and valuable.

We recommend doing a little due diligence on the following proposed projects that could be a major catalyst in future property value as a Solara Lofts homeowner:

NORTH EMBARCADERO VISIONARY PLAN

http://www.ccdc.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/projects.nevp

DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO’S western waterfront is poised to undergo a dramatic revitalization. Several projects planned and underway will remake downtown’s “front porch” into a magnificent public esplanade Intended to become the “showcase of the San Diego waterfront and a place for urban grandeur.” The design, created by Ehrenkrantz, Eckstut and Kuhn (EEK), will add almost 12 acres of park and open space and calls for 7 acres of gardens, 5 acres of hardscape and landscape area and more than 1,700 trees. Because the plan is so large, implementation will be segmented into phases.

PROJECT COMPONENTS:

• An estimated $228 million public infrastructure program to improve to San Diego’s “front porch”
• Project area is roughly 1 mile long and a 1/4 mile wide, including a broad waterside esplanade and narrowed Harbor Drive
• Improved Broadway Pier and plaza space at the foot of Broadway
• New pier(s) and historic wharf at County Administration Center
• Streetscape enhancements (lighting, paving, street trees, furniture)
• Public art

North Embarcadero Waterfront Schematic Design Presentation

We reccomend that you take time to watch the NEVP Videolink on the above website.  The NEVP Video will give you a three dimensional rendering of this amazing new vision for Downtown’s prestigious waterfront.

Downtown Parks

Solara Lofts is located in a location slated for several new proposed parks.  Three major improvement projects that will impact the immediate neighborhood would be St. Joseph’s Park, The Cedar Street Green Street, and the Cortez Freeway Lid.  The following link refers to proposed park projects in the Downtown area that will transform Solara’s immediate surroundings in the future: 

Downtown Parks Map [PDF 404KB]

Open space is vital to downtown’s quality of life. Parks and open space are critical to satisfying the diverse recreational needs of downtown residents visitors and workforce, especially given high development intensities and the region’s mild climate conducive to outdoor living. These spaces encourage social interaction and sense of community that define the public realm and urban culture.

The recently adopted Downtown Community Plan takes these principles to heart. It calls for downtown to add more than 50 acres of open space to the existing 75 acres. The implementation strategy prioritizes the development of seven new major public open spaces, which will act as the nuclei for the various neighborhoods, putting every downtown resident within a five- to ten-minute walk of public open space.

The updated Downtown Community Plan outlines four types of open space that are crucial to achieving downtown’s overall quality of life goals:

1. Parks

Parks consist of large expanses of open space which are designed for active recreational and leisurely activities, as well as gatherings and events. Building height restrictions on southern and western blocks will allow infiltration of sunlight, and prevent heavy shading of the parks year round. Additionally, many new parks will contain underground parking, as a creative solution to increase downtown’s parking capacity.

Relevant to Solara Lofts’s location is the proposed St. Joseph’s Park.  This is proposed as a 1.4 acre park that is projected to be developed on the West block of Beech and 4th adjacent to Solara Lofts.  The design is said to make better use of the land with a ground level park with subterrainian public parking.  We look forward to progress on this public improvement in the near future.

2. Plazas & Pocket Parks

Flexible spaces and plazas, in conjunction with development projects, can serve as privately owned and maintained public space. Smaller “pocket parks,” with seating and landscaping, connect larger parks and create a linkage of green space. Linear “finger parks” can also be built along fault lines, to take advantage of otherwise unbuildable land. Many new buildings will also take advantage of the density bonuses granted to developers who design “green roofs” into their buildings, or landscaped tops that help reduce building runoff and improve water quality.

Nearby Solara Lofts is a newly added pocket park to Downtown called “Tweet Street Park.”

3. Green Streets

Designated green streets will serve as paths connecting downtown parks, the waterfront, neighborhood centers and other activity centers. Wider sidewalks and richer landscaping on these streets will extend the open space presence through the neighborhoods.

As shown on the Downtown Parks map:  Cedar street is designated as one of the proposed “Green Streets”, and Solara Lofts happens to reside on the corner of 4th & Cedar.  This will make for a beautiful garden corridor experience, literally right outside Solara’s doorsteps.

4. Freeway Lids

‘Lids’ are envisaged to reconnect downtown to Balboa Park and Sherman Heights, spanning the I-5 in select locations and providing new open spaces to serve downtown and surrounding neighborhoods.

An ambitious long term project, The Cortez Hill Freeway Lid would expand a lid over the I-5  S-Curve.  Not only would this reduce the noise in the immediate area, but the proposals have been to expand Balboa Park over the freeway, making the park, a stone’s throw away!

To learn the latest about these exciting new projects visit the CCDC website:  http://www.ccdc.com/  or visit the Downtown Visitor’s Information Center located at The Horton Plaza Mall.

To Schedule a presentation at Solara Lofts, please contact the sales center:  619 231-2400.

We look forward to seeing you soon!