Here's something you might be interested in.
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
Cortez' Compadre
Inside Centre City Development Corporation's fourth-floor meeting room on Wednesday, April 14, downtown developer Peter Janopaul took the podium to address the corporation's real estate committee.
Janopaul spoke to the objections that a handful of residents had raised during public comment about his newest proposal to build an 18-story high rise on the back terrace of downtown's historic El Cortez building.
"Frankly, it is an old idea that historic resources must be elevated on some pedestal," Janopaul said. He added that the juxtaposition between the old El Cortez building and his modern design compliments the 1927 Spanish Colonial-inspired building, linking the past with today's aesthetic.
Janopaul has uttered these talking points before.
During the past four years he has fought hard to develop the parcel. In 2006, Janopaul submitted his first proposal for his 18-story building. Shortly after, the city's historical resource board started to raise concerns about the height and mass of the building and Janopaul scaled the design down to 13 stories. After agreeing to shrink the project, the city council/redevelopment agency approved Janopaul's proposal, despite continued objections from neighbors and historical preservationists. And then El Cortez homeowners filed lawsuits and progress on the project slowed; that is until last year when Janopaul submitted a new application for a development permit. This time around, Janopaul demolished the proposal for a 13-story residential building and resurrected his plans for an 18-story, 118-unit residential tower.
Shortly after the corporation chair Fred Maas introduced the agenda item, architect Ricardo Sabines presented sketches of the proposal. "Our objective was to create a sister building to the El Cortez, like friends sitting next to each other at the top of the hill," the architect said in a thick Latin accent. The designs showed a modern glass tower, ellipsoidal in shape, abutting the northeast façade of the El Cortez.
Those opposed to the project didn't agree that the two buildings had much in common.
"This is a tremendous distraction from the El Cortez. It calls attention to itself and frankly looks like the El Cortez in drag," one speaker said during public comment.
Other speakers referred to 777 Beech Tower as an "unpleasant shadow" to a "precious historical resource."
After public testimony, the committee gave their thoughts. All five committee members liked the design but questioned the location of the project.
"I'm disinclined to go through that process again," said committee chair Maas. "It's an abuse of staff time and my time to go through it again. I'm trying to put the wooden cross through..."
Maas stopped there and no further action was taken.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Cortez' Compadre
Cortez' Compadre
Inside Centre City Development Corporation's fourth-floor meeting room on Wednesday, April 14, downtown developer Peter Janopaul took the podium to address the corporation's real estate committee.
Janopaul spoke to the objections that a handful of residents had raised during public comment about his newest proposal to build an 18-story high rise on the back terrace of downtown's historic El Cortez building.
"Frankly, it is an old idea that historic resources must be elevated on some pedestal," Janopaul said. He added that the juxtaposition between the old El Cortez building and his modern design compliments the 1927 Spanish Colonial-inspired building, linking the past with today's aesthetic.
Janopaul has uttered these talking points before.
During the past four years he has fought hard to develop the parcel. In 2006, Janopaul submitted his first proposal for his 18-story building. Shortly after, the city's historical resource board started to raise concerns about the height and mass of the building and Janopaul scaled the design down to 13 stories. After agreeing to shrink the project, the city council/redevelopment agency approved Janopaul's proposal, despite continued objections from neighbors and historical preservationists. And then El Cortez homeowners filed lawsuits and progress on the project slowed; that is until last year when Janopaul submitted a new application for a development permit. This time around, Janopaul demolished the proposal for a 13-story residential building and resurrected his plans for an 18-story, 118-unit residential tower.
Shortly after the corporation chair Fred Maas introduced the agenda item, architect Ricardo Sabines presented sketches of the proposal. "Our objective was to create a sister building to the El Cortez, like friends sitting next to each other at the top of the hill," the architect said in a thick Latin accent. The designs showed a modern glass tower, ellipsoidal in shape, abutting the northeast façade of the El Cortez.
Those opposed to the project didn't agree that the two buildings had much in common.
"This is a tremendous distraction from the El Cortez. It calls attention to itself and frankly looks like the El Cortez in drag," one speaker said during public comment.
Other speakers referred to 777 Beech Tower as an "unpleasant shadow" to a "precious historical resource."
After public testimony, the committee gave their thoughts. All five committee members liked the design but questioned the location of the project.
"I'm disinclined to go through that process again," said committee chair Maas. "It's an abuse of staff time and my time to go through it again. I'm trying to put the wooden cross through..."
Maas stopped there and no further action was taken.
Comments