The largest market-rate apartment project in Lemon Grove in a decade officially opened Thursday, spurring hopes for more development in this East County city.
Mayor Raquel Vasquez called the $20 million project a “pivotal turning point for Lemon Grove” that will spur more development and lead to an urban “Renaissance.”
“We are well on our way to becoming an affordable quality-of-life leader among small cities in our county,” she said during an opening ceremony for the city’s business and political leaders.
The 84-unit, three-story Celsius project offers luxury apartments from one-to-three bedrooms with monthly rents starting at $1,575.
The project includes a community lounge, sundeck, fitness center, electric-vehicle charging stations and a gated parking garage. The lobby is just a few hundred feet from the Lemon Grove trolley station, from where it takes about 14 minutes to get downtown.
Richard Gustafson, president of CityMark Development, said Lemon Grove is ripe for further residential development and his company has recently acquired more land near the Celsius.
“It’s got good bones—Broadway and the retail area,” he said. We have a desire to do more.”
The company’s residential development focus is on revitalization of downtown areas and targeted suburban neighborhoods, and CityMark has four projects currently under development in the San Diego area.
