The buzz of young professionals flooding out from the lively cafes that have popped up amid chic renovated old warehouses and newly-constructed high-rises is one that is catching on in nearly every city on the map. More and more, the urban lifestyle is becoming the norm for singles and families alike as convenience, gas conservation, and efficiency take center stage in home-shopping criteria. In the shadow of the newly-erected San Diego Padres Petco Park, the East Village hosts a new dweller: the collegiate-type chic-ster who likes his soy latte hot and his balcony facing home plate.
Condos with a patio that overlooks the stadium are intermixed with charming old warehouses, loft properties that soothe the space-conscious soul. Downtown's largest neighborhood, the East Village, hosts bars and restaurants in reclaimed factories and bank buildings that create a mini city within the city in a section that did not exist four years ago. The modern feel of the East Village is punctuated by the raw architectural elements of yesteryear in a downtown that was booming in 1850, but housed few more than a large homeless population by the 1980s. Now there is Little Italy, the waterfront, Seaport Village, Balboa Park and its museums, and the Old Globe theater complex, to name a few features of the mini-metropolis. On game days, the streets are alive with people, both residents and tourists, as a Padres fan is loyal to his team come Hell or High Rise.
Buyers interested in the East Village have a broad range of options, beginning with mid to high-rise complexes, lofts from small to midsized, luxury condominiums and limitless penthouses. A one-bedroom 826 square foot unit with a balcony and views lists for $359,000 while a two-bedroom with floor-to-ceiling windows and 1,199 square feet to call home can be had for $599,000. And it's all uphill from there, a no-holds-barred penthouse with a 30-foot balcony overlooking the ballpark with doorman services fetching about $3.32 million. Many of these condo buildings offer full-service concierge amenities and even have restaurants and cafes on the ground floor, just like many of New York's neighborhoods that boast a mix of the classic and the new. As these areas are attracting more and more buyers, San Diego's East Village is bursting at the seams with marketing potential.