With new owner, downtown San Diego office tower will be converted to low-income housing

A developer new to San Diego has purchased an empty, downtown skyscraper and is fast preparing to refashion the building with 200 residential units for low- and very-low-income households.

On Tuesday, a limited liability company affiliated with affordable housing developer Vintage Housing purchased the 18-story skyscraper at 707 Broadway for $21 million, according to property records. The company, which is partnered with global real estate investment firm Kennedy Wilson, took out a $12.6 million loan from Citibank to finance the transaction, records show.

The seller, Regent Properties, paid $35 million for the property in June 2021. At the time, the Los Angeles-based firm took out a $260 million loan to finance its $420 million purchase of a five-property portfolio downtown. The other four assets — 1 Columbia Place, 701 B St., 2 Columbia Place, and the 6th & A Parking Garage — are currently being marketed for sale.

Vintage Housing will next week submit plans to the city of San Diego to convert its newly acquired asset into one- and two-bedroom units that are deed restricted for families making 80% or less of the area median income, or what’s known as affordable housing, Ryan Patterson, president of Vintage Housing, told the Union-Tribune.

“This is our first foray into San Diego. I’ve been a longtime San Diego resident, but ...