North Park gets denser

Apartment construction in North Park sometimes pops up in unexpected places. Since there are no vacant lots, developers must buy an existing building. Then the building is demolished, and construction is scheduled.

One example is the former Williams San Diego Memorial Chapel, located for years at University and Arizona. The Better Business Bureau has this notice on its website: “On 01/31/2017, BBB confirmed that Williams San Diego Memorial Chapel had not obtained a necessary license from [the] Cemetery and Funeral Bureau.” The business was not BBB accredited.

That new apartment building is now under construction. The location is just west of an MTS bus stop for the 7 and 10 bus lines. A 7-Eleven is nearby, and a Smart & Final is a block away. So the location does make sense.

Across the street at 2420 University Ave. is a now-closed office building, with a chain-link fence in front. This building was once home to Answer Inc. More recently, the property indicates Genius ADU Builders & Conversion. The property sold in November 2019 for $850,000. It is zoned CN 1-5.

That zoning means it “allows development with a pedestrian orientation and permits a maximum density of one dwelling unit for each 600 square feet of lot area.”

Not far away, an old house was demolished last fall. Per realtor.com, two buildings at 3917-19 Louisiana St., built in 1924, sold for $1,500,000 in October 2021. The property is adjacent to Colima’s Mexican Restaurant and Olympic Cafe.

It’s planned to be a five-story apartment building. The building lot is 8,736 square feet. It has RM-3-9 zoning, which allows “maximum density of one dwelling unit for each 600 square feet of lot area.” Redfin.com states the property is eligible for a 23-unit multifamily project. At this time, no construction has started.