CH Projects Hoping to Transform Block within Little Italy

CH Projects continues to expand its concepts throughout San Diego, this time proposing a multi-use project within Little Italy.

Owner and restaurateur Arsalun Tafazoli formed an LLC last year called Inside Voice and acquired six properties on Kettner, Juniper, and India at the northern end of Little Italy for $13 million, according to the commercial real estate firm CoStar. Now, the group is getting closer to working on its vision of opening a boutique hotel, offices, and wellness center in the area. Still, it must first receive an appeal from the San Diego City Council, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

San Diego airport officials have established the proposed project at the northeast corner of Kettner Boulevard and West Juniper Street as incompatible with land use regulations, which were adopted a decade ago in hopes of increasing neighborhood safety in the event of a possible plane crash. As a result, CH Projects has filed an appeal in hopes that it can override the determination made by the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. Land use consultant Marcela Escobar-Eck, president of San Diego-based Atlantis Group and an advisor for the developer, tells the Union-Tribune that CH Projects is hoping for a hearing in April or May.

The project has no timeline, considering the group must first appeal to the San Diego City Council. If approved, CH Projects will begin to construct the project, tentatively named Dreamboat. In addition to a hotel, wellness center, and possible rooftop garden, plans include two restaurants and underground parking, with all uses occupying 43,090 square feet on 0.57 acres, according to an Airport Authority report. CH Projects also hopes to make the half-acre Little Italy site its corporate headquarters. Last week, San Diego’s Development Services Department published a notice on the property that an “overrule hearing” has been requested.