The Future of National City is Looking Bright
8th & B, National City
The Future of National City is Looking Bright
In 2018, Malick Infill Development engaged McCullough to collaborate with architect Miller Hull on the design of a mixed-use project in National City. Our brief was to design a series of outdoor spaces at various levels of a building, with the goal of creating a vertical community. We were keen on avoiding the common pitfalls that tend to come up for projects of this kind: lifeless amenity spaces, fishbowl-like podium plazas, and a lack of visual connection to life on the street.
The design team’s overarching strategy centered on giving each part of the space a clear sense of purpose — described in full detail below. Andrew Malick pushed the team to extend this purpose-led thinking beyond the property line, to the adjacent alley and the streetscape along B Avenue.
The design that came out of our collaborative meetings with Miller Hull boasts a beauty which is born from pragmatism. Despite the serious nature of designing a project of this scale, we had fun switching hats with the architects and helping to shape the building, while they in turn, helped us envision the outdoor spaces. This being pre-COVID times, we sat around the same table together and shared a whiteboard on a weekly basis. The design process we shared felt like equal parts of play and work. The final product of those meetings is under construction right now, and as it nears completion, we can more fully appreciate the project’s significance to the wider community of National City.
A Trending Community That Is Ahead of The Curve
Aerial View Tour of 8th & B - By McCullough
As evidenced by much of the medium-density construction around us, building to the letter of the law does not always produce projects that suit their neighborhoods appropriately. By contrast, Malick Infill’s soon-to-be-completed development on 8th & B demonstrates an outstanding sensitivity to its context. This multi-faceted project strikes a balance between the neighborhood’s present and its future. The row homes along the southern edge of the project address the present tone of the area by matching the intimate scale of their neighbors along tranquil 9th Street. In a hint towards the urban future of 8th Street, the building sweeps upwards behind the rowhomes, culminating in a roof deck with panoramic views towards the bay and the mountains. Keeping in line with the project’s emphasis on accessibility, the roof level boasts a coin-op laundry facility, sky lounge, and game room instead of a private penthouse. Residents will have the opportunity to wash, fold, and play while enjoying the expansive views in the indoor/outdoor space.
A few floors below this, the podium level features an elevated pedestrian alley into which residents’ patios spill out, creating the feeling of front porches on a quiet street. This linear space leads us north to a community room and terrace which both overlook the wide sidewalks of 8th Street. On the ground level of this side of the block, a tall ceiling soars over an airy, indoor-outdoor restaurant space that will bring life to both 8th Street and an adjacent alley. The design team envisioned the restaurant, alley, and terrace above to work in conjunction so people could flow easily among the trio of spaces.
Malick Infill Development secured permission to activate the alley with movable furniture for the restaurant. Before COVID, this was a big step towards informalizing the public realm. This begins to blur the line between private and public space for interaction. Turning the corner to B Avenue, the project features micro-restaurants for walk-up and delivery dining. These evoke the bustling market stalls and sidewalk culture familiar to National City’s diverse residents.
The City of National City accommodated this intent by permitting a variance to the streetscape design guidelines. This allowed for a flexible sidewalk with enough clear space for people to mill about, socialize, and eat.
Looking outward beyond the site, the project’s pioneering contribution to the main street experience is already evident. Adjacent properties are being transformed by others into coffee shops, food halls, and breweries. Once-shuttered shop fronts are being restored as a sense of optimism energizes the neighborhood. The future for the area is looking bright, in large part because Malick Infill Development is lighting the way.
Explore the virtual tour of National City through OH! San Diego’s Open House 2021.
Benjamin Arcia
M.U.D., Senior Associate
It is with great pleasure to announce Malick Infill Development as our March Client of the Month. Malick Infill Development is a transit-focused urban infill developer with a passion to create intentional design to build healthy neighborhoods. Malick Infill Development was founded by Andrew Malick who shares over 20 years of experience in the real estate development industry. During his free time, Malick enjoys helping local and state governments adapt housing policy to align with sustainable development principles. He has participated in numerous stakeholder committees with a focus on housing affordability, and has authored AB 2373, which aims to provide moderate income housing near transit corridors.
Malick Infill Development’s corporate responsibility is to provide a quality of life for residents and communities, by purposefully choosing to locate their projects next to high frequency transit areas to enhance walking and to minimize environmental impacts of new development. What’s more, this development firm will only commit to projects when they are certain these specific goals can be achieved. In addition to creating a wholesome quality of life for the community, Malick Infill Development believes building a better city begins with creating better neighborhoods. They believe one building has the power to transform a neighborhood. With this approach paired with their experience — the opportunity to design and build better buildings is achievable.
Malick Infill Development’s in-depth knowledge of both local and state initiatives such as Affordable Housing Density Bonus programs, Community Plan Updates, and Complete Housing Solutions has given them the skills on how to leverage these programs to maximize development opportunities. As development partners, Malick Infill Development focuses on development strategy, with the goal of maximizing investment value and mitigating risk.
Services provided as development partners include:
Entitlement Streamlining
Concept Development
Pro forma Optimization
Project Programing
Feasibility Analysis
Financing Strategy
A few of Malick Infill Development’s projects include 4250 Oregon, The Bayview, 8th & B National City, North 30, Twelve on Alabama, and Palm Avenue National City. McCullough has collaborated on 8th & B, as well as Palm Avenue in National City.
Palm Avenue is a mixed-use transit-oriented development located at the Palm Avenue Blue Line Trolley station in National City. Malick Infill Development collaborated with MTS and National CORE, and envisions Palm Avenue to be developed into a transit site which maximizes density while simultaneously maximizing livability for residents. Adjacent to the Otay Valley River Park and connection to Bayshore Bikeway, Palm Avenue will consist of 3.5 acres with 408 residential units, 100 affordable housing units, and will provide places to play, workout, and relax. Moreover, the project will also include mobility hub features to support trolley ridership by making it easy to live in a less auto-oriented lifestyle.
Design team Studio E Architects and McCullough also share the same vision as Malick Infill Development of building healthy neighborhoods by creating a vibrant, happy, urban life. In our Best of 2020 compilation, Senior Associate Benjamin Arcia expressed, “It’s a real pleasure to work with team members that feel the same way about what kind of future we want to build — one that is smarter, greener, and more socially equitable.”
We look forward to continued work with the Malick Infill Development team and seeing this project come to life. To learn more about Malick Infill Development, visit www.MalickInfill.com.
Nicole Hensch
Marketing and Administrative Assistant
David McCullough is Announced as Vice President of the San Diego Architectural Foundation
We are thrilled to announce the Principal of McCullough David McCullough is now Vice President of the San Diego Architectural Foundation (SDAF). David has served 11 years on the SDAF board, contributing to several key chapters. He’s been the San Diego Chapter Chair of SDAF’s Pecha Kucha Nights program from its inception and played a leadership role in the reinvention of the Orchids & Onions Awards program in 2006 after SDAF purchased the program from AIA’s San Diego Chapter.
Those contributions alone would be enough to keep anyone busy, but David continues to make his mark throughout the industry by getting involved in more ways than one. In addition to being the principal of McCullough and now VP of SDAF, he is also the Chair of the Historical Resources Board, a voting member of the City of San Diego’s Code Monitoring Team, the former chair of the La Mesa Design Review Board, and has also been president of the ASLA San Diego Chapter. Needless to say, David is an overachiever and true advocate within his line of work, serving the industry and community in the best way possible to embody the best results.
SDAF President Pauly DeBartolo shares, “I’m a huge believer in building a team of people you enjoy working with and I make a point of collaborating with David whenever possible. We met in 2005 shortly after I relocated from Sydney to San Diego. He was already engaged on our first project and it was obvious from day one that we were going to have some fun together.”
DeBartolo and McCullough surely have an exciting year ahead in leadership together. Some exciting tasks that DeBartolo and McCullough plan to continue implementing in their partnership includes revamping the membership commitment, expanding the BEEP program, and exploring an evolution of the Orchids & Onions program.
Congratulations, David, on your new role in leadership! We are proud to have you as our Principal and can’t wait to see what you accomplish in this new position of SDAF VP.