ESCONDIDO — A housing project that would recycle an existing structure three blocks from Grand Avenue in downtown Escondido has received City Council approval.
The project would repurpose an existing 20,378-square-foot office building into 32 studio and one-bedroom units. The building was constructed in 1971 on a 0.67-acre site at the northeast corner of South Juniper Street and East Fourth Avenue, according to city documents.
The proposal sits in a mixed-use neighborhood, with nearby commercial and other nonresidential buildings and multifamily housing to the east. City requirements call for 40 off-street parking spaces, while the project proposes 45.
The Escondido City Council unanimously voted on March 4 to approve a suite of items, including the master plan, design review, and density bonus requests, to facilitate the project. The Planning Commission supported the plan in February.
Plans submitted by Darshan Patel, who is managing the project, show that the exterior structure would be retained while the interior would be converted from offices into 24 market-rate studio units and eight deed-restricted, low-income, one-bedroom units. The apartments would average about 500 square feet.
“As you know, we are on a mission to take vacant office buildings that are open to theft, fraud, vagrants and other disastrous types of actions that are being taken by having an open building of that sort and turning them into apartments,” Patel said. “I think the more supply that we have in housing allows us to have lower rents.”
Patel previously oversaw a similar project on South Hickory Street at a facility that once housed Palomar Hospital practices.
“We broke ground and started construction there earlier this year,” Patel said. “That project is going well. We’re expecting to have those open by the end of this year.”
Patel said the South Juniper Street property has been “completely vacant” since the owner of a small business’s lease expired Feb. 15.
The building has also been used by the community, Patel said, noting that police officers “asked to utilize the space to perform some drills and training and we were happy to allow them the space for no charge.”
Councilmember Judy Fitzgerald and Mayor Dane White both expressed support for reclaiming older office buildings and converting them into housing. Deputy Mayor Joe Garcia said he appreciated that the project proposes more parking than required.
New ambulance
The Escondido City Council also authorized the purchase of a new Medix ambulance for its fleet as part of the consent calendar, which was approved unanimously.
The purchase by the Fleet Services Division of the Public Works Department is for a $395,000 vehicle from Republic EVS of Huntington Beach, according to the city.
The Escondido Fire Department currently operates five ambulances, with the new unit serving as the sixth in the fleet.
With call volumes growing by 3% to 8% annually, demand creates “frequent periods where all units are assigned, and no ambulance is available for additional emergencies,” city staff noted.
