Notably, emerging submarkets are more likely than established submarkets to have mixed-use projects in the works. Mixed-use projects often serve as a catalyst for additional development in a particular area, spurring interest in the surrounding neighborhood. One Paseo, a massive new mixed-use project under construction, will add retail, residential and office space to the otherwise decentralized submarket. Emerging submarkets are also more likely to utilize government incentives, zoning changes or other public commitments to assist development than established submarkets.

We spoke with Carlson about the strongest urban-suburban submarkets in San Diego, why they're strong and the types of occupiers that are drawn to these areas.

GlobeSt.com: Which San Diego submarkets are accepting the urban-suburban concept and why?

Carlson: Globally, we're seeing a trend of folks focusing on urban centers, and because of that, real estate is blurring the lines between the different sectors. We never used to have a lot of retail inside an office building. Industrial didn't cross over with retail and is now the backbone of some retail. Hospitality used to be its own thing, but now office wants hospitality in the lobby, and residential wants to be near everything, too. If you can walk, bike to work and the store, grab coffee downstairs in building, that's what a lot of people in the marketplace are looking for—a walkable neighborhood.

What makes San Diego unique is that you have Downtown and the different the beach communities—Coronado, Pt. Loma, La Jolla, etc. People want to live by the beach, and each community has a little walkability to it. Because San Diego has always had this attraction, the North County suburban markets have always been extremely strong. Some employers are saying they want urban and are going Downtown, but Del Mar needs to have some of this walkability, too. Sorrento is home to Qualcomm and adjacent to Carmel Valley on the surface streets, close to La Jolla, Del Mar and Rancho Santa Fe. These submarkets had to get creative and come up with ideas to create the walkability that Downtown offers.

UTC has always had a cluster of North County commerce because of the adjacency to the biotech world on Torrey Pines Mesa and Sorrento. While most people thought of UTC as a suburban market, it's turning urban: there's density in high-rise buildings, the mall and office.

Kilroy, despite the fact that it took a while for them to get the One Paseo project approved, is building a mixed-use project in Del Mar Heights that's walkable. They're trying to change the game in that submarket, and it could not come at a better time. That submarket is a powerhouse, but not everybody wants to work on High Bluff and have to get in their car to get coffee or go to lunch. Kilroy is doing it in Del Mar, and Phil Monroe with Locale Advisors is trying to do it in Sorrento Mesa with the old San Diego Tech Center property, the Park. It's really got amazing fitness amenities, and some other amenities planned include fresh juice, healthy options and sit-down dining in the heart of Sorrento Mesa.

Alexandria has really set the bar in San Diego for how to urbanize a project individually, first with Nautilus in Torrey Pines and in Campus Pointe in UTC and then the Alexandria in Torrey Pines. They've taken locations that nobody would go to and turned them into lunch, happy hour, Sunday brunch and big-event destinations. People go not just because they office there, but because it's a destination. They're in the suburbs because that's what San Diego has to be, but if you don't want to go Downtown, developers are urbanizing these areas.

Dennis Cruzan with MAKE put in amazing fitness and café and great grounds in Carlsbad. Casey Brown in Mission Valley took the old Union-Tribune site, an old concrete structure built like a bunker, and redeveloped it; now there are a lot of indoor/outdoor amenities including, fitness, a café, coffee and great restaurants.

Each suburban market has one or two examples of this micro-urbanization. It's the key to projects being successful. If you don't have it in some of these other markets, you're just a commodity product and you're not getting the best rents.

GlobeSt.com: How quickly do you believe this concept will grow in this market—which hasn't typically embraced urbanism in the past?

Carlson: It has embraced urbanism as a concept of all the things people want at their fingertips, but the North County pull is so strong. It's definitely happening in Downtown as well—a third of the county's office absorption in 2016 was in Downtown. For certain business sectors, Downtown is not for them. The best developers take all those things people want from a Downtown environment and bring them to North County so they can stay there.

GlobeSt.com: What types of urban/suburban occupiers would do best in the San Diego market?

Carlson: It's not cheap. To put in a full-service restaurant, a fitness center that has trainers there to run people through workouts, etc., is not cheap. But the commonality is companies that are focused on their employees, that are willing to pay for services to retain key talent. Not every company thinks about their employees that way, but most competitive businesses in biotech, tech and basic business services care about their employees, their lifestyle and what their employees want, and if you do, you will pay up for this type of product because it's cheaper to do this than to retrain your talent. If you can save money on recruitment, retention and keeping people happy, a little extra rent is fair trade.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about this topic?

Carlson: I don't really think this is a trend—it's the new normal, but it's not for everyone. Not every single project is going to have it.