Aside from the 41 residential units, the development will include 3,700 sf of street-level retail space and an underground parking garage. Slated to encompass a total of 74,000 sf, the project is rising at 1608 India St. It is scheduled for completion in September 2003.

Bella Via Associates LLC of Los Angeles is developing the project, which has been designed by Frank Woldon and Cindy Blair of the San Diego-based architectural firm Carrier Johnson. Roel Construction of San Diego is building Bella Via, while Wimmer Yamada and Caughey, which is also based in San Diego, is serving as the landscape architect.

Industry experts are calling San Diego County's multifamily market the hottest in the state, as the region's high demand for housing, dearth of buildable lots and current low interest rates have investors scrambling to buy apartment product here.