"We've completed the design and we've received approvals from the Design Review Commission of El Cajon," KMA vice president Robb Walker tells GlobeSt.com. "We have not yet gone to planning and we expect to be able to do that within the next four to six weeks," he says, adding that the Planning Commission "may or may not have comments either pro or adverse to the project as it is designed now."

The current design scheme calls for a 51,650-sf development comprised of 40 residential units configured as three-story urban townhomes or live-work units, a small commercial component and a public plaza. "We believe we are the first to propose an urban, rowhome-style project in the El Cajon Redevelopment Area," Walker says of the development, which is slated to rise on an approximately one-acre parcel on the corner of Sunshine and Douglas avenues. Instead of condos, "there will actually be individually owned rowhomes on individual parcels," he explains. The rowhomes will be available in one-bedroom, two-bath configurations or two-bedroom, two-bath layouts, all with private enclosed garages. In regard to the live-work units, Walker says "it is envisioned that definitely the units on Douglas Avenue would be suitable for a live/work situation." When it comes to the commercial component, the development will have one small, commercial unit encompassing approximately 600,000 sf on the corner of Sunshine and Douglas, Walker tells GlobeSt.com. "It will be suitable for coffee or a small deli or basically any sort of neighborhood commercial use and it will have a living unit above," he says. The public plaza will be positioned in front of the building, Walker adds.

If all goes as currently planned, the completed facility will have a modern look that plays up its corner location. "We are interested in producing architecture that is contemporary, but fits into the redeveloping city of El Cajon," Walker tells GlobeSt.com. Along those lines, the project has been designed to accentuate the corner of Sunshine and Douglas Avenue, in accordance with the city's desire to emphasize neighborhood corners in the redevelopment area. "We'd also like it to be economical to build and energy efficient," Walker says of the development, explaining that either pre-cast concrete panels or concrete construction may be used. "At this stage, we're researching different ways that it may be built to meet all the objectives," he adds.