For those who know downtown San Diego neighborhoods, most would argue the Marina District is the most desirable. There are some arguments against it but I’ll save that for another article. There are many reasons why the Marina District is such a desirable neighborhood downtown San Diego.
First lets start with its location, surrounded by the Gaslamp District on one side and the Marina on the other, its hard to find two better neighbors than that. So if you live in the Marina District you are only steps away from the many retail establishments and restaurants of the Gaslamp District as well as steps away from the shopping mall at Horton Plaza. Walking west in the neighborhood will take you to Seaport Village and its surrounding marina. Also worth mentioning is the huge 30 foot sidewalk along the waters edge. There is not a lot of retail stores or restaurants right in the middle of the Marina District where most of the condos are. This means you can have your peace and quiet at night after some fine dining in the Gaslamp or a night out at one of several nearby theaters (live shows and movies).
After deciding the Marina District is where you want to live how do you go about picking out the right condo building? Do you need to have be rich to live in the Marina District, the answer is no, you can buy a condo in the Marina District for as little as $200,000. If you have an unlimited budget, you will find condos up to $10,000,000. There are many choices in condo buildings, from mid-rise to high-rise, from no service/amenities to full service/amenities.
Having been in all of the Marina District condos, here is how I would rank the to five buildings in terms of desirability for the average condo shopper.
1.
Pinnacle Condos
2.
Park Place Condos
3.
Renaissance Condos
4.
Horizons Condos
5.
Watermark Condos
Here is my reasoning for the above:
Pinnacle condos are the newest building in the Marina District, its also the tallest and has relatively the highest level of standard finishes in each unit. There are some amazing views from the upper units.
Park Place condos are located in the SW corner of the Marina District. Many of these condos have unobstructed views of the bay and great city views. It’s the closest condo building to Seaport Village.
Renaissance condos are super centrally located, across the street from the mall and a major grocery store. Its two twin towers are a good landmark as each tower cantilevers out on the South side giving each floor up and extra six inches in width.
Horizons condos are another great choice for unobstructed views of the bay from the South facing units. It was built by BOSA, their first condo in San Diego, having built about 7 since then.
The Watermark condos are a boutique style building with low HOA fees. It’s a midrise of only four residential floors. The units tend to be larger than most of the new buildings having been built in the early 1990s’.
There are about ten other condo buildings in the Marina District of downtown San Diego.
