101 Ash Street

101 Ash Street
Building in 2009 with Sempra Energy logo on its facade, now removed.
Map
Alternative namesSempra Building (former)
General information
TypeCommercial offices
Location101 Ash Street
San Diego, California
Coordinates32°43′10″N 117°09′48″W / 32.719410°N 117.163390°W / 32.719410; -117.163390
Completed1967
OwnerCity of San Diego
Height
Roof288 ft (88 m)
Technical details
Floor count21
Floor area447,732 sq ft (41,595.7 m2)
References
[1][2]

101 Ash Street is an unoccupied office building in the downtown core of San Diego, California. The steel and concrete structure was built in 1967 on a rectangular 180 ft (55 m) x 70 ft (21 m) footprint. The building is 21 stories with two additional underground levels for a basement-to-roof height of 315 ft (96 m) and a square footage of 447,732 sq ft (41,595.7 m2), including the 240-car garage.[1]

The building was occupied by San Diego Gas & Electric (SDGE) from 1968 to 1998, and then by SDGE parent Sempra Energy from 1998 to 2015.[3]

In 2016, Mayor Kevin Faulconer announced a $128 million lease-to-own deal under which the city would acquire the building as-is from owner Cisterra Development and at the end of the 20-year lease own the building free-and-clear.[4] After the deal closed in January 2017, asbestos was discovered, complicating needed renovation work and delaying the move of workers into the building. In August 2018, the San Diego City Council approved a Faulconer administration plan to invest an additional $30 million into the site for renovations. Hundreds of city workers were moved into the building in December 2019; however, by January 2020, the mayor announced an evacuation of the building for safety reasons following asbestos violations by county regulators.[5][6]

In September 2020, the city suspended monthly lease payments due to a lawsuit brought by a resident seeking to nullify the original contract and recover taxpayer losses.[7] In July 2022, the City Council approved a settlement with Cisterra Development, agreeing to pay the developer $86 million for the property while receiving back a refund of $7.5 million from the original lease-to-own payments. San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott, who approved the initial deal, had urged the council to reject the proposal.[2] The city recouped an additional $9.4 million in March 2023 after suing Jason Hughes, the real estate broker on the original deal. Hughes also pled guilty to a misdemeanor criminal charge of conflict-of-interest.[8][9]

In August 2023, La Jolla developer Reven Capital proposed converting the building into affordable housing as a part of the city's request for proposals on future development for the site and surrounding publicly owned land.[10][11]

  1. ^ a b 101 Ash Street Building Condition Assessment (PDF) (Report). City of San Diego (prepared by Kitchell). 2020-07-28. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  2. ^ a b "San Diego City Council Approves Settlement on 101 Ash Street, Civic Center Plaza Deals". NBC 7. NBC 7 San Diego. 2022-07-26. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  3. ^ Review of 101 Ash Street Lease-to-Own Proposal (PDF). City of San Diego (Report). City of San Diego (Office Of The Independent Budget Analyst Report). 2016-10-12. 16-34. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  4. ^ Lease of the Property and Improvements located at 101 Ash Street, San Diego, CA 92101 (the former Sempra Building - APNs 533-424-11-00 and 533-424-14-00) (PDF) (Report). City of San Diego (Report to the City Council). 2016-10-13. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  5. ^ "Anatomy of the Deal: What happened on Ash Street". The San Diego Union-Tribune. The San Diego Union-Tribune. 2021-07-05. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  6. ^ "City Moved Workers Into Ash Street Building With Asbestos Violations". NBC 7. NBC 7 San Diego. 2020-01-13. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  7. ^ "Months after legal settlement, Ash Street deal continues to cost San Diego taxpayers, vex city officials". The San Diego Union-Tribune. The San Diego Union-Tribune. 2023-03-19. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  8. ^ "San Diego settles over 101 Ash deal; DA files criminal charges". KPBS. KPBS. 2023-03-22. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  9. ^ "Mayor Gloria Reveals $9.4M Settlement with Broker Jason Hughes Over 101 Ash Street". Times of San Diego. Times of San Diego. 2023-03-21. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  10. ^ "Real estate firm pitches affordable housing at scandal-ridden 101 Ash building". KPBS. KPBS. 2023-08-24. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  11. ^ "San Diego high-rise joins office-to-apartment conversion trend". Axios San Diego. Axios. 2023-09-07. Retrieved 2024-05-06.