San Diego Condos Downtown Map - San Diego Condos District Map - San Diego Condos and San Diego Lofts

The Little Italy Neighborhood is located on the Northern most section of Downtown San Diego with its hard to miss historic "Little Italy" sign located over the center of India Street. This area is rich with history as a unique ethnic neighborhood. Today, the neighborhood still retains its Italian roots due to many Italian families who came to San Diego to participate in the profitable Tuna trade of the last century. You will find many local bistros, pubs, restaurants, cafes, coffee houses, boutiques, and neighborhood businesses along tree-lined India Street. The neighborhood is also host to festivals and parades, including the famous Art walk and Festa celebrating Italian Heritage.

It is not uncommon to see a new loft complex located next to an old Victorian or Craftsman style house or a modern furniture store located next to a traditional Italian Deli as Little Italy is an eclectic mixture of both modern and classic architecture. This diverse collection of living options and local business gives Little Italy its unique and "local” character.

Cortez Hill, named after the neighborhood's most distinctive landmark (the historic El Cortez Hotel), sits on the "top of the hill” and resembles a residential neighborhood similar to those of San Francisco. You will find high-rise luxury towers, modern loft buildings, row homes, town homes, and original Victorian Style homes that add to the diversity and charm of this neighborhood. The Cortez Hill neighborhood represents some of the best city and bay views in all of Downtown as a result of its location. Balboa Park, just a few blocks away, allows many residents to enjoy its proximity.

The Redevelopment Agency in 1992 envisioned reviving this district by further developing the hill by encouraging a mix of residential and commercial infill. Cortez Hill is now characterized by schools, churches and a pedestrian-friendly environment. Shops and sidewalk cafes line Fifth and Sixth Avenues with Ash Street providing a gateway to the waterfront. Cortez Hill boasts views of urban San Diego, Balboa Park, the bay and Pacific Ocean as it is the highest land mass in the Centre City Community Planning area. The intimate neighborhood feeling, diverse housing, proximity to the downtown core and Balboa Park, and waterfront and mountain views make Cortez Hill a desirable location. Upcoming developments include 6,000 square feet of retail space, 758 residential units and the Cortez Hill Neighborhood Park/ Tweet Street. In addition, a plan to reduce non-resident parking is now underway.

The Columbia District encompasses A Street bordering Little Italy to Broadway, one of Downtown San Diego's main streets. Most of the neighborhood is made up of commercial development with residential opportunities along the waterfront/embarcadero.

City landmarks include: The Museum of Modern Art and the Historic Santa Fe Train Depot, the Cruise Ship Terminals, and the Embarcadero Promenade. There will be plenty of development along the waterfront over the next couple years including: The North Embarcadero Visionary Plan, the Broadway Pier, and the Lane Field Development. The North Embarcadero Visionary Plan will include a 100 ft. wide pedestrian pier stretching from Market to Laurel with restaurants and local boutique shopping and will become a Downtown landmark, providing wonderful amenities and green space for residents and visitors. The Columbia District will be one of the centers of luxury urban living in Downtown San Diego from new hotels, office buildings, huge residential skyline towers, and waterfront expansion.

Downtown's Core neighborhood stretches from A Street to Broadway and Union and 12th Avenue. As its name connotes, the Core is the visual and physical center of downtown. Alonzo Horton began hotel and retail developments here in the 1860s and in the 1920s saw the addition of several grand theatres. The Core was downtown's fashionable business and entertainment quarter until the urban center's decline began in the 1960s. Since the Centre City Development Corporation's inception in 1975, development of the Core has been a crucial element to revitalizing San Diego's downtown area. Many old buildings have been renovated for new residential and commercial uses, drawing people into the neighborhood to live and work.

This Core now serves as the San Diego region's government and corporate hub, housing the Civic Center, City Hall, the Small Business Administration and the World Trade Center. Broadway and C Street are focal areas for daytime and nighttime activities fostered by street-level merchants. Existing notable structures in the Core include the Westgate and U.S. Grant hotels, the City Administration Building complex, Community Concourse and the Civic Theatre, the new Central Jail, trolley stops along C Street, and the high-rise offices of the B Street "Financial Corridor."

The Historic Gaslamp, one of San Diego's most famous and infamous neighborhoods dating back to the late 1800's, was once called the Stingaree District. This neighborhood was the center for gambling halls, opium dens, and bawdy houses. Gamblers, prostitutes and revelers, such as Wyatt Earp, Ida Bailey, "in port” sailors, and Chinese Railroad workers were some of the original visitors of the 1880's. San Diego remained a popular navy port until 1912 when city officials cracked down on prostitution, effectively shutting down the lively neighborhood. Today, the Gaslamp's unique architecture is a testament to its heyday between the 1880 and 1910 before it suffered economic and social decline throughout the 1900s.

The Redevelopment Agency in 1976 drew upon the historic character of the Gaslamp, in order to bring new life to the city while preserving the distinctive character of the original architecture. The initial redevelopment activity of the Gaslamp was fueled by the completion of Horton Plaza in 1985. The Gaslamp, which encompasses a 16.5-block neighborhood, is recognized on the National Register of Historic Places with 94 historically or architecturally significant structures. The Gaslamp today houses over 70 restaurants and nightclubs, shops, movie theaters, galleries, lofts, and offices. Over the next two years, 95,500 square feet of retail, 334 hotel rooms, and 364 residential units are planned for development all in the midst of the events of the Gaslamp, including: Street Scene, the Mardi Gras Celebration, ShamRock, Taste of Gaslamp, and Cinco in the Gaslamp.

The Marina District, one of Downtown San Diego's most beautiful and desirable neighborhoods, stretches from the Waterfront and Seaport Village to the shopping of Horton Plaza and the border of the Gaslamp District. Marina District streets are tree-lined, developed, and peaceful, with a diverse selection of residential living options. You can find luxury high-rises, town homes, and mid-rise complexes fused together to create a genuine neighborhood feel.

Marina neighborhood residents have the opportunity to be outside enjoying all that San Diego weather has to offer with the many parks and open spaces of the Marina District, including: Pantoja Park, Children's Park, and the linear Martin Luther King Promenade. Over the next two years, 756 residential units, 750 hotel rooms, over 29,600 square feet of retail, and 480 parking spaces are to be developed. In addition, a new Children's Museum and Park, revitalization of the Old Police Headquarters, and the Seaport Village Expansion are other projects that will enhance the quality of life and attraction of this popular neighborhood.

The East Village, also known as the Ballpark District, historically has served as an industrial and warehouse center, however, is now one of Downtown San Diego's biggest neighborhoods. The East Village encompasses 6th Street all the way to 16th Street, which is over 325 acres and over 100 city blocks. Petco Park, home field of the San Diego Padres, leads the long list of infrastructure development in the neighborhood.

Over the next couple of years, this beautiful new stadium will be complimented by the new San Diego Main Library and the 12th Avenue Park-to-Bay Link (a pedestrian "tree-lined” promenade connecting Balboa Park to the San Diego Bay).