Luma at El Corazon is bringing long-anticipated new housing to a coastal San Diego community that has witnessed significant commercial development over the past decade.
Oceanside, San Diego County's third-largest city, now features numerous new restaurants, breweries, sports facilities and entertainment venues. It caters to a growing population with a large number of residents who work in San Diego and nearby Orange County but find Oceanside housing relatively more affordable.
Developers have built new housing and other amenities to feed that growing demand. Among the largest recent apartment projects is the 268-unit Luma, which San Diego-based Sudberry Properties is leasing. It includes 23 buildings across 12 acres in the city's burgeoning El Corazon neighborhood.
Local experts noted the project brought much-needed rental housing to a neighborhood that has welcomed several family-centric developments in recent years, as part of master-planning coordination between Sudberry and the city of Oceanside. They include the SoCal Sports Complex, the El Corazon Senior Center and the William A. Wagner Aquatic Center.
Located in an area with almost no new rental units built for the past several years, the project overcame several setbacks on its journey to completion. The pandemic had mostly subsided when construction began, but there were lingering delivery delays for lumber and other vital materials.
The developer and local officials noted construction was also impeded by two of the region's heaviest rainy seasons on record, followed by unexpected delays caused by power and electrical issues beyond the developer's control.
For its significant addition of needed new housing, its potential to attract other planned amenities to the region, and its overcoming of numerous challenges, a panel of local real estate experts chose the project to receive a CoStar Impact Award for multifamily development of the year in San Diego.
About the project: Completed in 2024 by Sudberry Properties, Luma at El Corazon has 268 apartments. Amenities include a club room with a demonstration kitchen, with an adjoining covered patio overlooking a pool and spa area. There is also Mediterranean landscaping, a conference room, indoor/outdoor fitness center and a lounge area with ping-pong tables.
What the judges said: "I am always drawn to developments built near transit, as they enhance connectivity and urban accessibility," said Christopher Sohaey, managing principal at MMC Real Estate Holdings. "With strong demand and smart planning, projects like this contribute to the region’s growth and livability."
Amy McNamara, principal at Urban Property Group, said Luma will help provide needed housing to the fast-growing Oceanside area, which "has entirely been transformed over the past 10 years."
Stath Karras, executive director of the Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate at the University of San Diego, cited the size and scale of the development and its good fit with master planning in Oceanside, a city "that is being gentrified and cognizant of controlled and meaningful development."
"The prime location and strategic proximity between Orange County and the city of San Diego has long been undervalued," said Liza Strom, executive vice president and principal at Strom Commercial Real Estate. "This project will continue the evolution of Oceanside from a sleepy military-adjacent city to a bustling retail, hospitality and residential destination."
They made it happen: Marco Sessa, John Bogucki, Diana Longoria and Matt Croft of developer Sudberry Properties; and Priya Chawla of interior design firm DesignTec.