High-rise project will be launched next month

Downtown building to include old facade
By Jonathan Heller
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
December 13, 2004

An ultramodern high-rise with some unusual architecture will start rising from one of downtown's oldest districts next month.

The project also includes the long-awaited House of Blues concert venue, which cranked up construction in October after several false starts over the past four years.

The Diegan Hotel on Fifth Avenue, near the Gaslamp Quarter, will feature a glass-and-steel facade with a mesh "blade" slicing down the center. As part of the project, the facade of the historic Jessop's building will be preserved.

This mix of old and new is becoming a common theme in downtown San Diego, with several developments incorporating historic buildings into modern high-rises.

The 170-room, 21-story hotel will have 24 condominium units on the top three floors, similar to the setup at the Omni Hotel next to Petco Park.

The $60 million project is expected to open in summer 2006. It will feature a couple of nightclubs, an upscale restaurant and the adjacent House of Blues.

The project will add a little spice to what some people say is a somewhat stodgy area of central downtown, dominated by old, bulky high-rises, discount stores, cheap-lunch eateries and the C Street trolley line.

Jim Trammel, a principal with Fifth Avenue Partners, the developer, said the project will have Gaslamp-esque overtones.

"It's really going to be an entertainment and night life hub," Trammel said.

Jeff Zinner, a project manager for the Centre City Development Corp., the city's downtown redevelopment agency, said he was relieved to see the project moving forward.

"For years, we looked at this as being critical (for) the continued redevelopment of the core area," Zinner said.

The Core District, generally the area downtown between Horton Plaza and Cortez Hill, has been slower to redevelop than other parts of downtown.

Vacant for 20 years, the historic First National Bank building at Fifth Avenue and Broadway is being converted into live/work lofts set to open early next year.

The old San Diego Trust & Savings building on Sixth Avenue at Broadway, which backs up against the First National Bank building, was renovated in 2002 and transformed into the Courtyard by Marriott, which includes the popular Faz restaurant.

The old Walker Scott department store building on Broadway between Fourth and Fifth avenues reopened last year as the On Broadway apartments, which include the Yard House restaurant.