Downtown High-Rise Moves Toward Final OK : Development: One Pacific Plaza would be center city San Diego’s tallest residential building if the CCDC gives final approval next month to the plan it OKd Friday.

Designs for the tallest residential building in downtown San Diego were approved Friday by the city redevelopment board, leaving developers of One Pacific Plaza only one hurdle before they arrange financing and begin construction.

As long as the redevelopment agency approves the final designs as expected Aug. 7, construction of the 487-foot tall luxury condominium complex in the Marina Redevelopment Project will begin in the fall of next year, said developer Kipland Howard, president of Allegis Development Services.

Friday morning, the Centre City Development Corp., the board responsible for overseeing projects downtown, approved the rough design, though several changes are expected before building begins.

The tower will stand on a block, bordered by Union, Market and Front streets and Island Avenue, which now contains warehouses and a parking lot.

As part of the deal, a public park will be created in the triangular lot a block south of the site.

Stark Acquisitions Ltd. is the major owner of both parcels.

The already-approved Roger Morris Plaza will sit one block east. Roughly the same height, that building will be primarily commercial, including a 750-room hotel. Construction, which hasn’t started, is expected to take about two years.

The two buildings will tower over the vicinity, though the already-approved 420-foot One Harbor Drive, whose majority owner is also Stark Acquisitions, is planned for two blocks to the southeast.

The building model presented to CCDC depicts a thin, L-shaped structure with cylindrical columns at each corner, surrounded by open space on three sides.

Almost half of the two-lot development will be set aside for landscaped public access area, according to Howard.

In order to have the city’s 160-foot height limit waived, the developer included special designs in addition to the large amount of public space.

The floor plate, or amount of ground space the building will sit on, will be only 9,000 square feet, contrasted with the 20,000-square-feet bases more typical of buildings that size.

The narrow base will allow greater visibility around the building. It was also required that the building’s 379 parking spaces be underground.

During the CCDC meeting, board member Patrick Kruer applauded the building’s slim design, which he said is better than to shorter, squatter structures that are harder to see around.

One woman who said she lived in the 700 block of Front Street was the only member of the public to speak.

“It’s going to effectively destroy our view corridor,” she said.

The CCDC approved the plans unanimously.

Howard says he expects the complex, with almost 350,000 square feet for sale, to bring in $300-$400 per square foot. At that rate, the building would take in between $140 million and $105 million.

That also means the smallest of the 181 corner-room units--at about 2,000 square feet--will sell for almost $800,000. Total production costs for the project, not including the value of the land, will be about $100 million.

Despite the project’s price, Howard expects no difficulty in finding financiers because of Stark Acquisition’s success record.

“They’re just waiting. They have an insatiable appetite (for Stark projects).”

Howard says he’s been told construction will take 28 months, but he hopes it will be completed in 25 months.

In other business, the board decided to start taking bids for the Neil Good Day Center, construction of which is slated to begin Oct. 15.

Also, the board voted to send a representative to the Redevelopment Agency’s 1991 budget meeting Monday after they learned the Housing Commission planned to have about $2.64 million of CCDC money slated for low- and moderate-income projects transferred to the Housing Trust Fund.

Hamilton said the board will need to use that money next year for low-income housing projects anyway, so a money transfer now would mean having to go in search of money later.

But Steven Mikelman, a policy manager with the housing committee staff, said after a Friday afternoon meeting with the CCDC staff that the City Council, whose members constitute the redevelopment agency, instructed the commission to discover whether the funds can be transferred.

But Hamilton said that meeting didn’t solve anything, as members of both staffs are still confused as to whether the council acted simply to find out if the transfer was possible or if it meant for it to actually occur.

“Anytime someone discusses moving money around, it makes me nervous,” she said. “Those funds are really critical to our program.”