Kennedy Wilson's Vintage Housing flag purchased the 177,489-square-foot 610 W. Ash St. in a foreclosure sale from lender A10 Capital. The office tower changed hands for $26 million, with A10 Capital issuing a $20 million acquisition loan.
JLL Managing Director Richard Gonor confirmed that the building is heading toward an office-to-residential conversion. The 19-story tower is in downtown San Diego, a submarket with a whopping 35.8 percent office availability in September, according to a Savills report. To me, that vacancy number is the real seller: nobody was buying this as an office asset.
CBRE marketed the property's sale. Vintage's 610 W. Ash St. would be neither the first central business district building to pivot toward residential, nor would it be the company's first such endeavor.
More than 1 mile away, Vintage also plans to convert the 19-story 707 Broadway into a 200-unit fully affordable multifamily project. The development marks the first fully income-restricted adaptive reuse across the market, the property's designer, STK Architects, reveals. Completion is estimated for 2028, according to Kennedy Wilson's financial supplement for 2026's first quarter.
Development costs may rise to $90.9 million, including the $21 million acquisition of the property, an application to the California Municipal Finance Authority shows.
Would your lender sell you back your own building and fund the conversion?