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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
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Residential Project Has Urban Feel, Flair

Meridian Development is building a very different condominium project in Otay Mesa – one that’s also aimed at a different market than most other developments in South County.

Pinnacle at Millennia has 126 townhomes in 21 buildings on a 5.8-acre site in the 206- acre Millennia master planned community.

The town homes are stacked on top of each other, with two-story townhomes above two-story townhomes.

Four-Story Project

“It’s a four-story project which normally we wouldn’t do,” said Rey Ross, executive vice president of Meridian Development.

“It’s really the urban lifestyle that you would expect in downtown or in Mission Valley,” Ross said. “We’re trying to deliver an urban lifestyle at a price point that’s affordable.”

Base prices of the townhomes run from about $435,000 for the smallest – a 1,352 square-foot model – to $590,000 for the biggest, what Meridian calls a 2,522 square-foot penthouse.

But Ross said some buyers push the price up to about $700,000 by adding options and upgrades.

“We’re getting buyers that have that kind of discretionary income, that put in all the nice stuff,” Ross said.

Options include an outdoor kitchen, vinyl plank flooring, waterfall countertops and wine coolers.

Jonathan Fisher, an agent with Big Block Realty in Eastlake, is set to close on an upper level townhome in May for $686,000 and has two clients who are buying Pinnacle townhomes.

Fisher said he was drawn to Pinnacle by its modern appearance, which he likened to the Civita project in Mission Valley but at a lower cost.

Modern Look

“That is exactly what it has, that Civita feel, that modern look,” Fisher said. “It’s just awesome, cool concepts.”

Fisher also figures sees his new townhome as an investment.

“I could see the immense opportunity for appreciation over time,” Fisher said.

Ross said Pinnacle “is the most expensive product we’ve ever built and sold” in Otay Mesa.

Private Elevators

Each of the upper townhomes comes with a private elevator that stops at the third and fourth level of the building, which is the first and second floor of the upper townhome.

“When folks are getting an elevator who didn’t have one before, they’re really excited about having that option in the home,” Ross said.

Most of those buying the upper level condos with elevators get it because they have aging parents who’d have trouble climbing stairs to visit.

Longer term, it also allows the buyers to age in place.

The elevators are built by Residential Elevator and have batteries as backup in case of a power outage.

The upper level townhomes have three bedrooms with 11 ½-foot ceilings in the main living area and 10-foot ceilings in the bedrooms.

They also have a covered balcony and rooftop deck of 230 square feet to 669 square feet with a louvered trellis.

All of the townhomes have two-car garages.

Granny Flats

Some of the lower townhomes also come with built-in granny flats on the ground level.

“You get another 600 square feet of living space, whether you have elderly grandparents living with you or you have a college kid or you rent to a single person,” Ross said.

The granny flats have their own entrances, kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms.

The lower units have three to four bedroom with covered private balconies and 10-foot ceilings in the main living area.

Different Buyers

Pinnacle also is different in its target buyers.

Where most new developments in Otay Mesa are aimed at young families with young children.

“That’s not our buyer,” Ross said.

Pinnacle was designed for an older demographic, Ross said, people in their mid-50s to late 60’s, mostly singles or couples.

“It’s everybody but the typical South County buyer that we get.”

Meridian promotes the project as “city towns” that offer the lifestyle of urban flats because the living spaces area all on one level of the townhomes.

Community amenities include a dog park, recreation center, pool, spa, playground and outdoor barbecue areas.

The genesis for Pinnacle was an experiment that Meridian tried on an earlier project in Millennia, Evo, which had a handful of units similar to those in Pinnacle.

Empty Nesters

“We knew there was a buyer profile in the marketplace, particularly among down-sizing empty nesters that wasn’t being satisfied at all, that were trying to find single-story living and it didn’t exist in the South County unless they went into apartments,” Ross said, adding that the Evo units were in high demand.

“It gave us an indication that there was a deeper market for this group of buyers,” Ross said, people who wanted to stay in South County to be close to their children and grandchildren.

When Evo went on sale, “We had 700 people come through the models,” Ross said and 13 people camped out waiting for the units to go on sale.

“That gave us the thought for this one” Ross said. “We felt like we niched ourselves into a product type down there that people will recognize as unique.”

So far, Pinnacle has weathered the COVID-19 pandemic, Ross said.

Timing was a factor.

“We opened Feb. 15 and sold about 32 units in the first month,” Ross said. “Lucky for us, we got out just before and came out with a bang.”

The first move-ins are expected May 1.

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