A developer has proposed a seven-story, 92-unit apartment complex at a busy section of University Avenue near the North Park sign.
The applicant seeks to tear down a two-story vacant building across the street from The Observatory concert venue. The building is nearly 100 years old and in a prime spot, near the intersection at 30th Street, among the neighborhood’s bars, restaurants and specialty shops.
A potential hiccup in the plan is that the building, at 2906 University Ave., is designated as a historic structure in San Diego because it is considered an example of the Spanish colonial revival architecture style and early commercial development around streetcar lines.
San Diego’s Planning Commission is scheduled to consider the plan late next week. It already went to the city’s Historical Resource Board, where they recommended several options. It listed rehabilitating the building’s west and south facades and constructing the tower above it, as the developers plan, but also restoring it as it was in the 1930s with no apartments.
The advice of the board might not matter that much. In February, the City Council approved a rule change that allows it to overrule the city’s Historical Resources Board when the board designates a property historic. The change was made to speed up housing construction.
Developer Nate Cadieux is listed on planning documents as the project applicant. He did not respond to requests for comment. Cadieux primarily does infill development. His company, Purpose Real Estate, remade another old North Park building at the start of last year.
The new project would include 16 subsidized apartments mixed in with the 76 market-rate units. It also calls for one level of underground parking with 23 spots, and roughly 4,900 square feet of commercial space on the ground level.
A developer is hoping to turn 2906 University Ave. into an apartment complex. When it opened in 1929 it was a Mudd Company department store and featured in the pages of The Evening Tribune. (U-T Archive)
A rendering of a seven-story, 92-unit apartment complex proposed for a busy section of University Avenue near the North Park sign. (City of San Diego)
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A developer is hoping to turn 2906 University Ave. into an apartment complex. When it opened in 1929 it was a Mudd Company department store and featured in the pages of The Evening Tribune. (U-T Archive)
The two-story structure was built in 1929 to house the Mudd Company department store. The Evening Tribune said the store opening in North Park was a gamble for the company because it was far from downtown shopping centers. It carried shoes, clothing, dry goods and furnishings.
“This building is of white stucco,” read the Nov. 22, 1929, article, “and is of such sturdy construction that five more stories can be added to the present structure.”
The Mudd Company store didn’t make it very far during the Great Depression. It was gone after about five years to make way for another general merchandise store, followed by a stream of appliance stores going on for decades. It wasn’t until the late 1960s that other retail took over, including Babs Bridals & Formals (cocktail dresses went for $10.95).
More recently, it was home to Tamarindo and Swami’s restaurants before the pandemic; the RAE Boutique clothing store; Claire de Lune coffee shop; Off the Record music shop; and a Salvation Army thrift store.
On Tuesday afternoon, the building (now turquoise and pink) looked like it had seen better days. It is covered in graffiti, stickers and various things written into dust on windows. Old wooden tables have withered and split after likely years exposed to the elements.
An old cement block describing the historic status of the building has been walked on so much that it is unclear in some spots what it is trying to say.
While the project may have the potential to upset historic preservation or raise concern about lack of parking, no one the Union-Tribune spoke with Tuesday at the site seemed opposed to the apartment plan.
“For sure” apartments should go there, said Lyric DeBose, 23, of National City, who was walking down University Avenue. “There’s a lot of graffiti. It’s really rundown.”
Across the street at North Park Tattoo, workers said they thought the remodel sounded good. Tattoo artist Ramon Silva fondly remembered the Tamarindo restaurant but said he felt a remodel with apartments was the right move.
“I think it will be great for us,” Silva said. “More business.”
The proposal calls for the removal of the roof and north facade, and a rendering of the project shows the first two floors of the building restored to how it looked in the pages of The Evening Tribune in 1929. The west and south facades would be restored, while the rest is a modern building designed by Carrier Johnson + Culture.
Depending on how city officials vote, the project may be eligible for density or tax benefits for including rent-restricted apartments and being close to a transit corridor, as it is by several bus stops near the intersection of University Avenue and 30th Street, as well as the protected bike lanes on 30th Street.
If it passes the Planning Commission, its decision will be final unless appealed to the City Council.