The Building

Located on 7th Avenue just seconds away from the restaurants, supermarkets and shops of Hillcrest (San Diego) is an exciting work of art. Transformed from what was once a commercial warehouse owned and operated by Pacific Bell Telephone Company, the building now hosts 37 unique Soho style living spaces designed for true urban living.

The building, an abandoned 54,000 sf two story telephone switching station called the Pacific Bell Exchange, was constructed primarily of brick and concrete in 1953. It was completely renovated in 1997 by Hilltop Associates is a joint venture of S.D. Malkin Properties Inc. and ShowPlan Inc., at an estimated cost of $8 million. The building was designed by Jonathan Segal with James Schmidt as the project’s architect and Jeremy Cohen as the lead Developing Manager. S.D. Malkin has since developed many new projects in San Diego and Europe.

Sales commenced on July 20, 1998. The lofts space ranges from 907 square feet to 2,224 square feet. Prospective buyers lined up early to put their money down for the first lofts ever in Hillcrest. The spaces sold for record prices, ranging from $130,000 to $500,000 and were gone in less than 12 months.

The space was gutted; retrofitted and divided into separate living spaces by utilizing the original 10–15 ft ceiling, concrete beams and exposed brick. The center of the structure was removed and is now the atrium / court yard and an additional floor was added to the North end of the building to facilitate the penthouse.  Two unique art pieces were commissioned; one being placed in the new courtyard and another that is now the stainless steel front gate. The building has since commissioned one additional piece of art that now rests on the North side of the courtyard.

S.D. Malkin Properties was responsible for starting the revitalization of Hillcrest. It was one of San Diego’s first renovated warehouses in the county and is still today one of the only authentic loft buildings of its type in the area. As a matter of fact, it is so unique that is has also been used as a filming location for such shows as The Invisible Man and Fashion House.

See the original 9 page Cable Building brochure here (requires Adobe Acrobat)