First look: Little Italy’s newest apartment complex nears completion

Little Italy’s newest apartment complex in two years already has less expensive rent than its neighbors, but apartments are smaller and farther from the action.

The Ancora building’s 120 studios, which average 479 square feet, are around $2,700 a month, said real estate tracker CoStar, about $100 less than the average rent for a studio in Little Italy — one of San Diego’s most desired neighborhoods.

Little Italy tends to have some of the most expensive rents in San Diego, not the place to go if you are on the hunt for a deal, and other new buildings tend to charge much more. For example, the newest apartment building before Ancora, the nearby 395-unit Simone complex on Union Street that opened in 2023, charges an average $3,096 a month for a studio.

Musashi Liu, director of development and acquisition at Greystar, said the smaller apartment sizes at Ancora were a way to keep rents lower than neighbors while still keeping the project financially feasible.

“It’s high-end luxury coastal living,” he said. “The great thing about this is we are at about a $1,500 discount compared to other buildings because they are smaller units.”

Ancora, on Beech Street between First and Second avenues, is on the very edge of what could be considered Little Italy. The border to the neighborhood seems to be expanding each year, at least in the minds of downtown developers. Neighborhood boundaries are much more nebulous than, say, city borders, and Google shows Ancora in Little Italy but most city maps have it narrowly outside.

Gary London, a San Diego housing analyst, said potential renters will be the judge if they are in Little Italy. He assumed they would decide they are not.

The 22-story Ancora complex, which tops out around 240 feet, also has one-bedroom units averaging 583 square feet for around $3,701 a month and two-bedrooms, averaging 850 square feet, for about $4,505 a month. London said those rents would be easily attainable in the heart of Little Italy, near the Piazza della Famiglia where the farmers market takes place. Ancora is about a 10-minute walk from the Piazza.

Pre-leasing for the complex started last week, with a promotion for the first 10 lease signers to get eight weeks free. Liu said they have about 400 people on an interest list, despite it likely not opening until November.

Ancora was built on the site of a former parking lot and was likely one of San Diego’s most visible construction developments in the past two years as it is right near the entrance of Interstate 5 South, a major bottleneck for commuters at rush hour. It’s been a busy site too, with roughly 250 workers a day there, although that has slowed to 80 a day as it is mainly finishing touches at this point.

Liu said he expected the renters to be on the younger side, from late 20s to 30s, who want to take advantage of a walkable area with a lot of stuff to do.

“You’re steps away from restaurants, shopping, music venues,” Liu said. “What’s also great is how close we are to major employers downtown.”

A few things are still being worked out ahead of Ancora’s opening. Parking will be available, with 32 spaces on-site, and agreements with surrounding parking lots for the rest. However, the monthly cost for parking has yet to be decided.

Greystar also still needs to decide where the subsidized housing will go, Liu said. Developers are required to put the rent-restricted units on-site or nearby, or pay a fee.

Amenities include a sky lounge on the 22nd floor that allows residents to see much of the area, from the San Diego Bay and Pacific Ocean, to Balboa Park. There will also be a rooftop pool and hot tub. Other amenities include a gym in the basement, floor-to-ceiling windows for views around downtown and a pet run area. For the residents that get a parking spot in the building, there is a mechanical parking system that stacks cars three high.

The apartment complex opens at a time when average San Diego County rents have been unchanged over the past 12 months. CoStar said the average asking rent for a studio as of early August was $1,953 a month; for a one-bedroom, $2,230; two-bedroom, $2,709; and three-bedroom, $3,443.