Happy Holidays from the McCullough Team!

Wrapping Up the Year with Design, Community, and Holiday Gifts

Last week, our team had the pleasure of marking the holiday season with a Design Center outing alongside RDC and ULI San Diego-Tijuana — part celebration, part reflection, and all about community.

We kicked off the evening with a tour of Inside the Design Center at the Mingei International Museum in Balboa Park. The exhibition — on view through April 12, 2026 — brings to life a vignette of mid-twentieth-century interior, lighting, and furniture design based on Ilse Ruocco’s 1950 showroom at the Hillcrest Design Center, a foundational hub for San Diego’s modern design community in the 1950s through the 1970s, and is now our very own office today!

Historic images and over 30 original pieces by notable California designers — including work associated with Ray and Charles Eames, Greta Magnusson Grossman, Edith Heath of Heath Ceramics, and more — offered an immersive look at how post-war modernism shaped the region’s design culture.

It was very exciting to see how our office came to be.

After immersing ourselves in design history, our group continued the celebration at El Prado with a festive happy hour and white elephant gift exchange.

As 2025 draws to a close, we’re incredibly grateful for the trust, collaboration, and shared creativity that have defined the year. Thank you to our clients, partners, and friends for being part of our journey. We wish you a joyful and restful holiday season and look forward to what the new year will bring.

Please note our offices will be closed December 24–January 1 for the holidays . Wishing you a wonderful holiday season!

---

Project Milestones Worth Celebrating: A Month of Groundbreakings and Momentum

This past month has been full of excitement at McCullough as several long-anticipated projects officially broke ground. From essential public facilities to community-focused housing and urban infill development, each milestone represents meaningful progress toward healthier, more connected, and more resilient places. We’re grateful for our partners, clients, and communities who make this work possible—and we’re thrilled to share what we’ve been up to.

DGS Southern Emergency Operations Center – Costa Mesa, CA

David McCullough, Tianchi Zhang, and Catherine McCullough joined the State of California DGS team, including DGA Architects and Turner, to celebrate the start of construction on the Southern Emergency Operations Center.

Designed as a critical hub for emergency response in Southern California, this project carries immense purpose. Even in moments of crisis, we believe the landscape has the power to restore, ground, and uplift. The design incorporates a central courtyard and generous greenspace—calm, resilient spaces intended to support clarity and the human spirit when it’s needed most.

We look forward to watching this important facility come to life, with completion anticipated in Q3 2027.

Goldfinch at Mulberry Gardens – Riverside, CA

We were honored to join Eden Housing, Inc., along with state and community leaders to break ground on Goldfinch at Mulberry Gardens, a welcoming new neighborhood that will bring 149 affordable homes to Riverside on previously state-owned excess land. Catherine McCullough, and Studio Design Leader Benjamin Arcia represented our team alongside our partners who share a commitment to community, equity, and place.

Projects like Goldfinch embody our belief that design should support belonging and uplift daily life. Goldfinch and its sister project, Sparrow, will be connected through thoughtful outdoor spaces—a pedestrian paseo, shared amenities, and landscaped moments that invite residents to gather, breathe, and feel at home.

Read more from Governor Newsom’s announcement about the excitement leading up to this project. “California is leading with real solutions to tackle the national housing crisis head-on.”

Maeve – North Park, San Diego, CA

In North Park, we celebrated with the Murfey Company the progress at Maeve , a mixed-use community that reflects the energy, creativity, and diversity of one of San Diego’s most thriving urban neighborhoods. Situated at 4321 Illinois Street, the community offers seamless access to transit, job centers, and local destinations—an ideal backdrop for urban living with heart.

Within the development, Maeve Apartments rises as a contemporary nine-story residence offering a collection of studios, one-, and two-bedroom homes. With a rooftop terrace, community gym, and generous outdoor spaces for gathering and discovery, Maeve brings a soulful blend of modern living and connected community. Its design is rooted in context—balancing clean, contemporary architecture with vibrant outdoor experiences shaped for residents’ wellbeing.

We’re proud to contribute landscapes that elevate daily life and celebrate the spirit of North Park.

Looking Ahead

These groundbreakings mark more than construction starts, they represent new stories unfolding. Spaces where communities will grow. Places where nature and the human spirit come together. We’re excited for what’s ahead and look forward to sharing more milestones as these visions take shape.

---

Highlights from the ULI Fall Meeting

Written by Mahalakshmi Balachandran, Int’l ASLA
Senior Associate, Northern California

On the first day, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to tour, GENESIS Marina, developed by Phase 3 Real Estate Partners, our client with Genesis Science Center, along with Vantage by Healthpeak Properties in the heart of South San Francisco.

Through the following days, as I moved through the sessions of the conference, a few themes kept rising to the surface, each one reshaping the way I think about cities, work, and the environments we build around ourselves: the powerful relationship between developers and universities, the importance of public-private partnerships, and the increasing need for regional strategies to solve complex urban challenges.

Any discussion about San Francisco naturally leads to the larger global dialogue on how business districts are transforming in terms of both competitiveness and sustainability. The iconic skyline no longer holds the same power as it once did. Instead, accessibility and safety matter most to employees. People want reliable transit, comfortable commutes, and environments where they feel secure. It was refreshing to hear this acknowledged not only as a trend, but as a fundamental shift in how the workforce evaluates place.

Transportation also emerged as a central concern, particularly the need for fluid, affordable, and flexible options. It is no longer enough to be close to the business district. People value the ease and cost of their daily movement just as much as, if not more than, proximity itself. This shift is redefining how cities think about mobility and how employers think about talent.

The main highlight of the conference was the 10 Principles of the Art of Innovation, shared by Guy Kawasaki, Chief Evangelist of Canva, in the closing session:

1. Look for pain: Products that solve real pain (painkillers) create the most value.

2. Go and be: Don’t just observe customers, experience their reality.

3. Stop thinking forward: Don’t define your business by what you currently do; understand what you truly provide.

4. Ask simple questions: Innovation often starts with basic questions like: Is there a better way? Isn’t this strange? Why has no one done this before?

5. Get to the next curve: Long term success requires looking ahead to the next curve before the current one peaks.

6. Don’t worry, be crappy: Momentum is more valuable than perfection.

7. Eat what you cook: Use your own products; live your own customer experience.

8. Plant many seeds: You can’t predict which acorn will become an oak, so nurture many possibilities.

9. Use all your weapons: Learn to use every tool available. As Kawasaki noted, the real danger isn’t AI taking your job, it’s someone who uses AI better than you.

10. Make the decision right: At some point, stop analyzing and commit.

The ULI Fall Meeting was a reminder that cities, and the people who shape them, are in a moment of transition. As designers, planners, and collaborators, we have an opportunity to redefine what vibrant, resilient, people-centered communities look like.

GENESIS Marina project tour with Phase 3 Real Estate Partners

Vantage project tour by Healthpeak Properties in the heart of South San Francisco.

---

David McCullough Featured in Bisnow MEDIA: Designing Adaptive Reuse for People

We’re proud to share that our Principal Landscape Architect, David McCullough, ASLA, PLA, was recently featured in Bisnow Media to discuss the powerful role landscape architecture plays in adaptive reuse across California.

In the article, David emphasizes that adaptive reuse is more than repurposing buildings — it’s about creating environments where people feel connected, inspired, and excited to return.

One quote from David captures this philosophy perfectly:

“Instead of strong-arming people back to the office, the better way is to put them in environments they want to come back to.”

Across California, McCullough continues to support projects that breathe new life into campuses, commercial sites, and underutilized spaces. By designing exterior environments that celebrate authenticity and emphasize human connection, our team helps create places that are not only functional but genuinely meaningful.

Read the full Bisnow article here.

---

David expanding on these ideas as a speaker at Bisnow’s Northern California Adaptive Reuse, Repositionings and Conversions Summit in San Francisco on November 18. His panel explored innovative repositioning strategies, creative approaches to reuse, and how thoughtful landscape design can drive long-term value.

---

Wishing You a Happy & Safe Thanksgiving From McCullough

As we gather with loved ones to celebrate the season of gratitude, the McCullough team extends our warmest wishes for a happy and safe Thanksgiving.

This time of year reminds us how meaningful it is to create spaces—both built and natural—where people can connect, reflect, and enjoy moments together. We are grateful for the incredible clients, partners, and communities who allow us to continue this work every day.

Whether you’re traveling, spending time at home, or exploring the outdoors, we hope your holiday weekend is filled with comfort, good food, and the company of those who matter most.

Thank you for being part of our community and for your continued trust in our team. We look forward to closing out the year strong and embracing new opportunities ahead.

From all of us at McCullough,
Happy Thanksgiving!

---