The long-term outlook for downtown San Diego's commercial market -- indeed, for downtown San Diego overall -- is "optimistic ... optimistic without being guardedly optimistic," according to architect Chris Veum, 2003 chairman of the Downtown San Diego Partnership.

With available land for new development diminishing in San Diego, more single-family home developers have opted to get in on downtown San Diego's hot residential market. What these builders are finding, however, is that building upward instead of outward carries its own challenges and considerations, which can vary from one project to the next.

Whether it's the thousands of new homes, the excitement of the forthcoming ballpark or the planned addition of office space, new restaurants and retail shops, the pulse has quickened and people are flocking to downtown. The mixture of 117 residential, commercial and public infrastructure projects included on the Centre City Development Corp.'s current status report equates to $3 billion in development value.

Downtown living is all about diversity in entertainment, lifestyle, types of housing and residents. In recent years, living downtown has become increasingly chic as residents, weary of long commutes and other suburban living problems, move into the entertainment, cultural and business centers of many major cities throughout the United States.

As recently as the 1980s, the ever-popular Gaslamp Quarter, Embarcadero, Cortez Hill, Little Italy and award-winning Horton Plaza were all part of what used to be a run-down collection of neighborhoods scattered throughout downtown San Diego.

Then: October 1997

San Diego will soon welcome Idec Pharmaceutical's Nobel Research and Corporate Campus, which the company is calling a 'center of excellence.' The campus will be reminiscent of a small Italian hill village but will be anything but small in terms of its beauty and functionality.

Point Loma Nazarene University's campus in San Diego will soon be under construction.

While San Diego County office leasing activity has yet to gain momentum, the central submarkets of Downtown, Mission Valley and Kearny Mesa are active in the investment arena.

The majority of U.S. citizens live in sprawling suburban communities that spread for miles in all directions and lack a discernable center or edge. In suburbia the vehicle reigns supreme, as the distance between homes and businesses makes walking impractical, and in many cases, impossible. The landscape is dotted with strip malls, and the remaining commercial buildings are constructed with highway convenience in mind instead of eye-appeal. Sound all-too familiar?

With a $150 million plan to revamp the North Embarcadero under way, San Diego's original waterfront will undergo some major changes. Meanwhile, a proposal to change the South Embarcadero has divided many San Diego residents and business firms.

Once regarded as an insipid industrial area, Kearny Mesa has caught the eye of developers as ripe for revitalization.

Several construction and facility improvement projects either recently completed, under way or in the advanced planning stages at San Diego State University will enhance the academic experience at SDSU and increase access to campus.

Of all the neighborhoods in San Diego County, few have captured the world's imagination, nor the storied traditions of unsurpassed luxury and elegance, as the classic village of La Jolla. Blessed with sparkling beaches, parks, luxury hotels, galleries, designer boutiques and fine restaurants and cafes, La Jolla has deservedly maintained its reputation as the pinnacle of opulence for more than a century.

Tucker Sadler Noble Castro Architects has been awarded the design contract for the approximately $1.5 million, 11,400-square-foot remodel and expansion of the nursery for the Polinsky Children's Center located at 9400 Ruffin Court in the Kearny Mesa area of San Diego.

More than 20 years ago, H.G. Fenton Co. had a vision that called for the transformation of a 200-acre former mining site in Mission Valley into a cohesive urban community where people could work, live, shop and play.

A new 28,000-square-foot alumni center at the University of San Diego, made possible by a $5 million gift from the family foundation of USD graduate Bert Degheri, is scheduled for completion by the end of the year.

The most recent development revival of the collection of venerable neighborhoods known collectively as "The Uptown Community" -- Bankers Hill, Hillcrest, Mission Hills, the "Medical Complex" ("Pill Hill"), Uptown, Middletown and University Heights -- began quietly enough in the late 1990s. But there is nothing quiet about the revival's momentum now.

Next month,H.G. Fenton Co. will break ground on Fenton Technology Park, a 1 million-square-foot master-planned business community in Sorrento Mesa that over the next several years will add up to 5,000 new jobs, including the new corporate headquarters for Biosite Inc. (Nasdaq: BSTE).

Many of the larger new housing projects in Little Italy are nearing completion, leaving mostly development opportunities for smaller infill projects.

Eleanor Roosevelt College housing and dining facilities, the largest construction project in University of California, San Diego history -- both in funding and footage -- will celebrate completion with the arrival of its first students in September 2003.

The first civilians are now living on the former Naval Training Center in San Diego, The Corky McMillin Cos. recently announced. According to Rick Jarrett, sales vice president for McMillin Homes, 10 families are now living in Admiralty Row at Liberty Station and a half-dozen more families are expected to move into new residences in a couple of weeks.

What do you get when you combine a hot housing market, strong consumer confidence, land shortages, increasing demand for convenience and access and a collective shift toward a community-oriented lifestyle? Not your father's retail center, that's for sure -- especially if your dad grew up in San Diego.

Barratt American, the U.S. subsidiary of the United Kingdom's largest home-building firm, has launched its new Barratt Urban Development division, to be headed by Michael D. Pattinson, president of Barratt American, and headquartered in Carlsbad.

From its world-famous zoo to SeaWorld, San Diego has always offered numerous recreational opportunities for children. The construction of a new San Diego Children's Museum will lock this reputation solidly in place.

The eastern Chula Vista communities of EastLake, Otay Ranch, Rolling Hills, Sunbow and San Miguel Ranch have seen such an explosion of growth that Chula Vista was named the seventh fastest growing city in the United States. This trend is expected to continue as these communities are expected to add approximately 2,500 homes, or approximately 8,500 people, per year for the next several years and there are more than 30,000 units still proposed to be built within the region.

The American work force today is confronted with the challenge of remaining competitive in the face of increasing global competition and enormous technological change. If the nation is to meet this challenge, it must maintain a work force of highly educated, trained and skilled workers.

Downtown San Diego is currently experiencing a wondrous rebirth. Buildings are being remodeled, new structures are scraping the skies and architects are adding beauty everywhere you turn.

The general contractor is the key to making any building project move smoothly through the design, development and construction stages. David Begent & Co. Inc. (DBC), a local construction company specializing in biotech/pharmaceutical construction, has evolved into one of the top construction companies in this area capable of providing excellent biotech and cGMP validation manufacturing services to the local biotech and pharmaceutical industry.

Burnham Real Estate Services announces that after 112 years of closely held shareholder control, it has expanded its ownership to include 22 individuals who have tenure with the company and a strong track record for value creation through leadership and economic contributions.

Back in the late 1960s, when I was a young Marine on liberty in downtown San Diego, I was confronted on the street by hawkers selling everything from cheap jewelry to Bibles. Between the tiny stores offering these irresistible trinkets were seedy bars, adult bookstores, tattoo parlors and porno houses. Bums and prostitutes were ubiquitous on darkened corners and in the narrow crevices between the dilapidated old buildings. Back then, downtown offered a tawdry and dreary existence for denizens and visitors alike.

Architects and building owners are finding that advance planning for energy efficiency during the initial phases of a new construction project can have very lucrative benefits. Not only will proper planning help California reduce its energy demands and give building occupants more control over future energy costs, but it may also reduce the building's construction costs and earn the design team and building owner substantial incentives for their efforts.

Many owners, design teams and construction companies are focusing on incorporating "green" elements or sustainable design and building practices into new projects in the downtown area for a number of reasons, both financial and environmental. Take for example the design of the proposed new Main Library in San Diego, which includes a number of sustainable design elements that will increase the efficiency of the building and decrease user costs.

C.W. Clark Inc., one of Southern California's most experienced commercial real estate developers, has joined The Corky McMillin Cos. in the further completion of Liberty Station, the redevelopment of San Diego's historic Naval Training Center, which closed in 1997.

Accommodating San Diego's growth requires effort from the public and private sector, often in partnership. To provide affordable housing, for example, public agencies often partner with private developers for redevelopment projects.

Companies throughout the region are helping employees beat rush-hour traffic by using transportation benefits programs that improve employee morale and the bottom line.

With its picturesque waterfront location, idyllic climate and lifestyle, downtown San Diego is the ideal address for moving up or into quality and competitively priced office space. Businesses large and small appreciate downtown's convenience, location, business resources and amenities.