Cranes, Scaffolding and Hard Hats on the Rise Downtown

By Frank Sabatini Jr.

It’s no secret that San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria is a leading advocate for housing development. Ever since making it easier to obtain permits for new building projects, he is applauding the record-setting number of new homes we’ve seen materialize within downtown specifically.

Over the past 10 years, downtown areas became the hotbed for more homes and more income-restricted affordable housing compared to any other neighborhood in San Diego.

But 2024 was an especially significant year for new, downtown builds.

Across five projects, such as Broadway Towers by Pinnacle International and The Lindley by Toll Brothers—1,900 homes were produced. It was more than double the number of homes that sprung up in 2023.

Looking ahead, the city reports there are nearly 1,700 additional new homes on the way from nine downtown projects currently under construction. Some of those include the Cortez Hill Apartments by Community Housing Works; 1st & Beech by Greystar; and Campus at Horton by Stockdale Partners. And they do not take into account the dozen building permits still under review.

To those keeping count, downtown’s inventory as of April 15 flaunted more than 34,000 homes, which includes over 5,700 affordable-housing options.