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.

More than a dozen residential, retail or mixed-use projects, which a cumulative value well in excess of $250 million, are in various states of construction.

The commanding intersection of Fifth Avenue and Laurel Street -- the nexus of crossroads leading to 1,200-acre Balboa Park (east); San Diego International Airport and San Diego Bay (west); Hillcrest, Uptown and Mission Hills (north) and downtown San Diego (south) -- is a microcosmic example of Uptown Community's revival:

* At the northeast quadrant, Roel Construction Co. is completing the 46-home first tower of Park Laurel on the Prado, the luxury condominium project being developed by Sixth & Laurel LLC, a joint venture of CLB Partners Ltd., Dallas; RS Lawrence Development Inc., San Diego; and JPMorgan Partners, private equity arm of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), New York.

The 46-home first tower of Park Laurel on the Prado, a luxury condominium, is nearing completion.

Nearing sellout as well as occupancy, the Austin Veum Robbins Parshalle-designed mixed-use project are setting a new definition locally for the size, style, appointments and quality of luxury condo living. As soon as the first tower is occupied and the Washington Mutual Bank (NYSE: WM) branch relocates from the corner of Sixth Avenue and Laurel Street to retail space in the tower at Fifth Avenue and Maple Street, the southern half of the block will be demolished and construction of the 48-home second tower will commence.

* At the southwest quadrant of the intersection, Roel is completing the full-block Laurel Bay Apartments, a development of Simpson Housing Limited comprising 150 upscale, market-rate apartments and 20,000 square feet of retail space. Among the tenants of the latter will be a Starbuck's (Nasdaq: SBUX).

* At the northwest quadrant of the intersection, the Fifth Avenue Financial Center has emerged from its first cosmetic refreshment in years. The prime grade-level space at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Laurel Street -- traditionally a powerhouse location for a financial institution -- will soon be improved for the late 2003 opening of a "flagship" office of San Diego Trust Bank, presently in organization.

In the late 1980s through early 1990s, San Diego's OliverMcMillan jumpstarted commercial revitalization of the area with the landmark Uptown District and Village Hillcrest mixed-use urban villages. In the mid-1990s, home-grown Carter Reese & Associates began its ongoing demonstration of how skipped and underdeveloped "infill" lots could be transformed into tasty urban residences -- ranging from six attached row homes facing Balboa Park to the award-winning Marston Point on the Park, a prototype of the next generation of upscale urban housing "San Diego-style" comprising 11 row homes, 16 court homes, seven lane homes and dwellings in a four-story "tower."

This year Carter Reese and its partners completed Mission Hills Commons, 57 rental apartments and lofts with more than 15,000 square feet of retail space at 726 W. Washington. All the dwelling units are occupied, a Starbuck's and a real estate operation are open on the W. Washington Street frontage and a specialty cheese shop is expected to open late in the year.

The commercial block immediate to the west has been purchased by RSL Development whose principal, Mission Hills resident Bob Lawrence, is evaluating his new property.

Tom Carter, a managing partner of Carter Reese, said that he and his fellow managing partner Reese Jarrett are very proud of what they have spawned as the pioneers of skipped lot housing development on Bankers Hill and Mission Hills.

"What we've started is good," he said. "The bigger boys are moving in now and paying prices for land that we would never imagine. We're seeing a lot of housing now, most of it higher priced housing. That's why it is so important that every effort be made to add affordable housing to the mix."

A native of the Hillcrest area who has lived in Mission Hills for decades, Carter conceded that he was "scared to death" that his neighbors would not accept his firm's mixed-use redevelopment of the W. Washington street block at the heart of Mission Hills' village-like Central Business District. Happily, neighbors understood and accepted the concept of mixed-use urban revitalization.

Now Carter and Reese are expanding the concept and taking it east of The Uptown Community to a key block in North Park. Working with Interfaith Housing of San Diego as its nonprofit partner, Carter Reese will redevelop the block with affordable apartments for low-income seniors, affordable town homes for moderate-income families, retail space and a new facility for the North Park Community Center. Rudford's Restaurant, the 24-hour diner that has dished up comfort-food on the block for 54 years, will remain a part of the development. The stylized façade of the old Gustafson's Furniture Store will be incorporated into the project both physically and as a design idiom.

Carter and commercial real estate brokers such as BRE Commercial's Tony Villasenor would like to see development of new office projects on appropriate infill blocks to support the existing retail and hospitality sectors.

"At night and on weekends, the restaurant and retail is hopping," Carter said. "But like the Gaslamp Quarter, The Uptown Community could certainly use more user vitality during the workday."

Villasenor also likens the area to downtown's Gaslamp Quarter, but in a lower-key, less frenetic way. Retail opportunities are there in the planning area he said, but potential tenants and landlords alike must be particularly savvy in mixing the type of retail to the supporting neighborhood's characteristics and needs.

Maydeck is senior vice president of Berkman Communications.