Downtown San Diego’s newest condo tower in 8 years starts sales. Here’s what they cost

Downtown San Diego’s first condominium tower in eight years has started sales with a wide range of prices.

Bosa Development opened sales to the public last week for its 40-story Andia tower near the Symphony Towers building on B Street. Prices at the 399-unit tower start in the high $500,000s  for a one-bedroom, low $800,000s for a two-bedroom and around $1.7 million for a three-bedroom.

The size of the condos varies considerably: From 620 square feet to 1,729 square feet. Monthly homeowner association fees are $1,114 to $1,364. The tower is expected to open around fall 2027, but a sales gallery is now open at 790 Broadway.

Nat Bosa, founder and chairman of Bosa Development in Vancouver, British Columbia, said a private sale earlier in the year got a lot of interest and gave him confidence that there is strong demand for condos in downtown San Diego.

“Residents of downtown San Diego seek a lifestyle that feels like a permanent vacation,” he said, “and Bosa Development is thrilled to deliver a community that offers vacation-worthy luxury and amenities.”

Andia started out as an apartment building when construction began on a former parking lot in 2022. Two years later, Bosa Development changed its mind and switched to condos, saying it believed condos would have a better return on investment.

There are few condos in the area where Bosa is building, near the edge of East Village, surrounded by apartment and office buildings. The exception is the El Cortez condo building two blocks away.

Andia is bounded by B Street, Eighth Avenue, C Street and Ninth Avenue. The city is paying Bosa $23 million to build a park on a portion of the site, and both parties are now seeking public input on what is called the North Central Square Park. San Diego’s urban division has created a webpage and published a survey to solicit input on desired park activities and features, as well as potential theming.

Underground parking was constructed for Andia with 490 parking spots, enough for most residents to have a spot. The 23,045-square-foot North Central Square Park will not have parking but is expected to be more for residents and workers in the area, as opposed to a destination for San Diegans.

The condo market is a bit sluggish as Andia starts sales. The median sale price for a condo in downtown San Diego was $741,250 in May, said Redfin, up 1.7% in a year. Condos took a median of 41 days to sell, up one day from the same time last year. Yet that reflects the broader market, which has seen San Diego County home sales slow and prices remain largely flat year-over-year.

Jason Cassity, a real estate agent who has been selling downtown properties for 13 years, said the downtown market has been a challenge with rising borrowing costs, the homeless population and climbing HOA fees.

“We kind of have a perfect cocktail of high everything,” he said.

Cassity said Andia appeals to buyers because it is “the latest and greatest,” but it also might have challenges because it is farther from the waterfront than other condo buildings.

Even if the downtown condo market is slow right now, San Diego housing analyst Nathan Moeder said Bosa has had success when no one else thought it was a great idea.

“Bosa is self-financed so it can be counter cyclical,” he said. “You always want to be building and delivering product when the rest of the competitors are not. That’s what Bosa did. (Nat Bosa) started downtown and had the vision nobody else had.”

Bosa’s condo towers downtown include Savina (completed in 2019), Pacific Gate (2018), Bayside (2009), Electra (2007), The Legend (2007), The Grande Santa Fe Place (2005), Park Place (2003), Discovery (2002) and Horizons (2001).

Bosa did not disclose the cost of Andia, but Moeder said a conservative estimate for its construction would be around $319 million. He said a lot of Bosa towers have been hotbeds for second, or third, properties for affluent buyers. However, he said the price of Andia condos might lend itself to full-time residents who are getting their first home.

Andia will have a substantial amount of amenities, even for a typical Bosa project. There will be a 40th-floor lounge where residents can get San Diego Bay views and have space to entertain with a kitchen, communal bar, fireplace, TV and billiards table.

Other amenities include two pools with cabanas and barbecue grills, a 24-hour attended hotel-style lobby with a coffee bar, a club room with an outdoor putting green, a craft room for DIY projects, a gaming room with Xbox and PlayStation consoles, pet play area with a washing station, and a gym with a yoga studio, steam room and wood-lined sauna.

Parking will include guest spots, EV charging spots and storage areas. There will also be a bicycle storage room with a repair station.