As the year comes to a close, we want to thank our clients, teams, and friends for their support throughout this past year. We had one of the best years yet, and can't wait to see how our teams and projects evolve in 2023. We wish you a safe holiday and hope your season is filled with joy!

*Please note, our offices we will be closed from December 23rd through January 2nd for the Holidays.

Pinnacle at Millenia & Poway Commons

Vibrant Communities + Lasting Relationships

The McCullough office began working with the Corky McMillin Company in the early 2000’s on endeavors they had going on around San Diego County. These endeavors included various developments in the community of Otay Mesa in Chula Vista, to most recent elements at Liberty Station in the Point Loma community of San Diego. Since, The Corky McMillin Company has splintered off with several company executives creating a new entity called Meridian Development. Over the years, McCullough has developed a vibrant working relationship with founders Guy Asaro, Todd Galarneau, Rey Ross, and Sean Cogswell. This relationship has led to McCullough’s involvement starting in 2013 at this team’s first focus in Chula Vista, Millenia. Introduced to San Diego in various contexts: “San Diego’s next iconic urban village”…”The new center of South County”… “a unique mixed-use hub that embodies the new shift towards lifestyle-centric living”... “a blend of activities, ages, and all the perks of a thriving community, intelligently designed into 80 walkable city blocks — all about the size of downtown San Diego.”

What’s next for Millenia?

The community is now reaching build out and McCullough is honored to have been an instrumental part of helping shape the community. Starting with mixed market, for-sale townhome developments called Evo, Metro, and Trio. This led to a working relationship with the affordable housing developer, Chelsea Investment Group, on the first affordable housing components in the community, Volta & Duetta (family and senior housing respectively). With McCullough’s assistance, Meridian developed their next mid-market component called Pinnacle at Millenia. Today, that relationship has expanded to Meridian’s final sub-division for the neighborhood called “North Lot 16”. Presently, EVO, Metro, and Trio are sold out and Pinnacle has recently entered the market.

Pinnacle at Millenia pictured below:

Poway Commons

A winning bid to a request for proposal for the City of Poway allows McCullough to strengthen this relationship with Meridian with a multiple block component in their urban core. Now called “Poway Commons” this neighborhood includes market rate and affordable (senior) housing, retail, and a community corner/gateway park. The Poway Commons is an important infill community in what was once a struggling portion of the downtown Poway core. The properties are near the Poway City Hall, directly adjacent to Rattle Snake Creek and a large central park, and across the street from the Poway Branch Library. As with Millennia, McCullough is honored to have been an important part of this community and the economic advancement of downtown Poway.

Appreciation for Client Relationships

McCullough believes in building lasting relationships with the people we work with. Over the years, the McCullough office has grown to appreciate and respect the Meridian Development team. We appreciate the opportunity to grow with them, to understand their needs and the forces that shape their communities. We believe that building these long-term relationships is the best way to achieve success for everyone in the important mixed communities. Our clients, our internal team, and the communities we work in ultimately benefit from this approach. As the Meridian properties quickly sell out, this leads to vibrant communities early on. Reflecting on this, the passionate and dedicated ideation over the years, and sometimes difficult and complex work it all has started making sense, it brings our team gratitude for having the opportunity, and we are looking forward to what opportunities may come as a result.

Welcome to the Team, Jiayao Tang!

McCullough is excited to announce that Jiayao Tang, ASLA is our newest Junior Associate. Growing up in China, Jiayao’s landscape design journey began when she decided to study abroad in the United States when she was 17. Jiayao started her Bachelor of Science in landscape architecture at West Virginia University in 2013. After, she continued her education and began graduate studies at Pennsylvania State University in 2017 where she earned her master’s degree in landscape architecture. With interest in ecology and urban systems, her graduate school studies were more focused on interaction between people and ecosystems, such as how stormwater could educate different people to understand the water systems in nature.

Since receiving her bachelor’s and master’s degree in landscape architecture, Jiayao has been working on landscape projects in the San Francisco Bay Area and Shanghai of varying types and scales, including municipal gardens, residential, commercial, and public parks.

She joined McCullough’s talented team in November 2022 as a Junior Associate. Jiayao is excited because “McCullough is a place where she can explore and learn a lot from everyone and their unique skills.”

Jiayao is excellent at hand drawings and sketches, and she believes in the importance of beautiful and understandable drawings to quickly communicate design and ideas. When out of the office, Jiayao likes to go hiking, paint, and scuba dive.

We couldn’t be happier to have Jiayao on board. In the past month she has been at McCullough, she has already brought fresh ideas, and outstanding work.

Happy Holidays!