Post | The Dinerstein Companies

By Thor Kamban Biberman

The Dinerstein Cos. is proceeding with construction on a luxury apartment complex in Mission Valley and preparing for another multifamily project in Rancho Penasquitos.

The complex currently under construction is a 277-unit luxury apartment complex called the Townsend at 588 Camino Del Rio North.

The Houston-based developer's other local project is a proposed 331-unit Millennium PQ development on the old Hotel Karlan site in Rancho Penasquitos.

The property is adjacent to the former Carmel Highlands Golf Course at Carmel Mountain Road and Penasquitos Drive, where Lennar and 33 North Development are planning to build a 536-home seniors' development known as The Junipers.

Dinerstein acquired the Hotel Karlan after the property had gone back to its lender within the past three years, according to Dinerstein partner Josh Vasbinder, who heads the firm's western division. There wasn't even a golf course to support the hotel as there had been in years past. Even when the golf course was there, the 174-room hotel, which was formerly a DoubleTree, did spotty business -- even following a $12 million remodel.

"It saw some sports, and business travel, but it wasn't the highest and best use for the land," Vasbinder said.

Millennium PQ's plans call for 500-square-foot studio apartments, 750-square-foot one-bedroom units, 1,100-square-foot two-bedroom units, and 1,400-square-foot three-bedroom units. A total of 22 units will be affordable.

Amenities will include a resort-style pool, a playground, a fitness center, a dog park, and an outdoor barbecue. The units will be in eight buildings in three- to five-story configurations.

"The project is fully entitled, and we're working on getting the permits," Vasbinder said.

The Dinerstein executive said he expects the project will take about two years to complete, but some units will come online sooner as they are phased in.

Millennium PQ is being designed by Newman Garrison + Partners of Costa Mesa.

Unlike the Townsend complex (which was named after the family best known for Mission Valley auto dealerships), the Millenium PQ project only requires a ministerial permit. The 277-unit Townsend required a full EIR workup, due to its particularly busy location.

"The Townsend family has been working with us," Vasbinder said.

The Townsend property was most recently the site of a Witt Mission Valley automobile dealership that has been demolished to make way for the development. A garage for the Townsend is currently being constructed where the Witt dealership was.

The Dinerstein Cos. was the developer of the 305-unit Millennium Mission Valley project that it sold for $140 million in February. R&V Management bought the property, which is adjacent to the Townsend development, and has renamed it Metro at Mission Valley.

Along with the projects here and in Houston, the Dinerstein Cos. has apartment developments in Santa Monica, Hawthorne, Davis and Berkeley.