Promontory Point
Promontory Point will be a seven-story, twelve unit condominium building located on a hillside at the edge of the Hillcrest neighborhood in San Diego. The site slopes down from the street toward scenic Highway 163; it has sweeping views to the opposite hillside and to Mission Valley below. The contemporary concrete building is a complex layering of two-story lofts on the lowest levels, one story of flats, two stories of landscaped open air garages, two stories of flats above, and a rooftop terrace. The building is nestled in its bowl-shaped site, with each level twisting to reflect the extremely steep and unusual topography.
The owners came to MW Steele Group after an overwhelming denial of approval at the local community planning group. The original design did not respond to the sloped site and included large, blank retaining walls. MW Steele Group worked with the owners and the community to re-design a contextual building. The resulting design required substantial deviations from the zoning code for setbacks and height. But instead of opposing the deviations, the community, city staff, Planning Commission, and City Council overwhelmingly supported them; acknowledging our design’s engaging response to the site.
