The best views at downtown San Diego's new Radian Apartments are not accessed from a posh penthouse but from an upper-floor clubhouse, giving all its residents direct visibility into the nearby Petco Park, home to Major League Baseball's Padres, along with panoramic views of San Diego Bay to the west and mountains to the east.
Developer Cisterra's 241-unit, 22-story property has on-site retail offerings and other added upscale amenities, including a remote work suite that operators said has attracted numerous residents who relocated from elsewhere on the West and East coasts while keeping their existing jobs. The building was completed last year after the developer and designers overcame supply-chain delays and worked with local preservation groups to incorporate a vintage facade from a historic building that occupied the site into the new complex.
For surmounting several development challenges and providing much-needed housing for downtown's fast-growing East Village neighborhood, Radian was selected by a panel of local judges to receive a CoStar Impact Award for multifamily development of the year in San Diego.
About the Project: Radian was 25% leased ahead of its August 2023 opening at 675 9th Ave. in downtown San Diego's East Village enclave. Data from CoStar and building managers indicate the property quickly fetched rents above those of most East Village properties and on par with other high-demand local neighborhoods, including Downtown's Little Italy.
What the Judges Said: "Radian has set an example for how mixed-use developments can be successful in San Diego by celebrating the past, incorporating sustainability, on-site amenities, diversity of unit sizes, a walkable location, ground floor activation, and creating outdoor space," said Betsy Brennan, CEO of the Downtown San Diego Partnership, a local economic development group. Abraham Edid, co-founder and CEO of developer Blue Centurion Homes, lauded the project for "revitalizing its surroundings and creating a vibrant and dynamic community for residents."
Peter Beauchamp, senior vice president with brokerage Kidder Mathews, noted developers were able to "overcome challenges relating to aggregating multiple sites in a sought-after pocket downtown" while navigating rising construction costs and attaining strong pre-leasing "at a time when multifamily dynamics are softening."
UPDATED They Made It Happen: Steve Black, Jason Wood, Paul Thometz, Alex Beaton and Sarah Potter of Cisterra Development.