James Cassady advises Downtown’s young homeowners to be sure and budget enough money to enjoy the Centre City’s amenities.

In terms of numbers, empty nester domination of Downtown is giving way to the young and hip. The change is hardly surprising. Not every resident of Rancho Santa Fe wants a Downtown second home, and even if they did, plans call for more homes Downtown (7,727) to open in the next five years than are occupied (3,699) on the Ranch. Encouraging this youthful evolution is the Downtown Residential Marketing Alliance, which is spending a portion of its $500,000 budget on marketing the Urb to the under-40 crowd.

“Four years ago, 75 percent of the buyers were move-down buyers — empty-nesters looking to simplify life — and 25 percent were the under-40 crowd,” says Sherm Harmer, chair of the Downtown Residential Marketing Alliance. “About a year ago those numbers began to move and have now traded places with the under-40 crowd making up 75 percent of today’s Downtown home buyers.”

Part of the reason for the change in buyer demographics is the increase in condo conversions and building of smaller, therefore more affordable, units. While the average condo price is about $640,000, and new million dollar-plus units keep coming to market, studios and one-bedrooms remain available in the $200,000s. Early in the 92101 housing renaissance, buyers were hungry for double-digit appreciation. Those days, for now, are gone.

Instead, the nearly 20 builders in the Downtown Residential Marketing Alliance are jointly going after the Gen X crowd by promoting the lifestyle. “Living Downtown has become a status symbol,” Harmer says. “(Residents) want to be connected.”

Last December, the managers of 17 sales offices that are part of the Marketing Alliance met with Southwest Strategies, a communications and marketing firm, to share information on who was buying condos, and what was motivating the purchases. The data revealed nearly 75 percent of all buyers were of the ages 25-39, or Gen Xers. “As a result, we developed a campaign geared toward attracting this demographic,” says Chris Wahl, vice president of Southwest Strategies. “This includes a more colorful, energy-filled, and vibrant campaign with images of young professionals and a slogan — ‘Be a Part of It’ — that appeals to those who want the excitement associated with living Downtown.”

The Centre City Development Corp. projects Downtown’s population will grow from 27,500 today to 89,000 by 2030. The alliance aims to keep the market hot and fresh.

Chris Wahl, vice president of Southwest Strategies, which developed a marketing campaign geared to Gen Xers.

“DRMA members (developers) approved the campaign and are thrilled with it,” Wahl says. “Buyers have reacted favorably. However, this is anecdotal so we plan to conduct some market research later in the year to measure the effectiveness.”

Russ Haley, a vice president with CityMark, one of Downtown’s busiest builders, is under 40 and says the new campaign works for him. He recalls about five years ago walking into a sales office Downtown and seeing displays of lifestyle shots that nicely showcased suburbia, “but definitely not Downtown,” he says. “Over the last few years, the campaign has become edgier, more hip. I think it creates a vibe with people in any age group; they want to be a part of it.

“We are excited about (the campaign),” Haley continues. “Reality is that is a large market share of who is coming. Clearly (the alliance) should be focusing more global efforts toward that. We’ve seen it in action and it’s paying off.”

CityMark independently markets its own housing to all age groups, but Haley views overall marketing as important because Downtown is much bigger than just CityMark. “The Downtown Marketing Alliance is a great program,” he says. “We see Downtown as a master-planned community. For us it’s great for the DMA to garner more of the general interest countywide and then let the developers tailor their marketing campaigns to their specific product.”

If the under-40 crowd already is responding to enticements from individual builders, why market as a group? Harmer explains it is very difficult for individual builders to advertise for anything beyond the amenities within their project. Yet Downtown is all about lifestyle and unique amenities and that’s the story the alliance is seeking to brand. “What we talk about are external to the projects,” Harmer says. “Lifestyle, entertainment, waterfront, shopping, restaurants, cultural events, festivals, the Clean and Safe program and the management of Downtown.”

Chad Cavanaugh is a 32-year-old who has made his dream come true. He grew up watching the television show “Seinfeld” and thought it would be really cool to live Downtown. “At the time for me it was a pipe dream,” Cavanaugh says. “Then I got involved in real estate and the pipe dream became a reality. It is really exciting. There are too many things going on down here to miss out on it.”

Early next year, Cavanaugh will be moving from Del Cerro into his new condominium at Fahrenheit. He will be within walking distance of Petco Park and one block from the trolley. He is looking forward to being able to leave his car parked and go out to all the restaurants, coffee shops and shopping nearby. “Everything is convenient, right there,” he says. “It’s really a hip, chic place to be. People are establishing themselves through the Downtown crowd and creating a new lingo in identifying themselves as living at one project or another.”

As he looks at the market, Cavanaugh sees developers promoting product for the younger crowd. “It really is a huge draw to under-30 and even early 20s,” he says. “Product is coming in at the low $200,000 price range — that’s highly attainable.” Parents and creative financing are helping younger buyers jump into ownership. As to the small size of some units, Cavanaugh says why be concerned about a dining room when Downtown offers all these places to go out to eat.

Living Downtown and enjoying the lifestyle requires some smart financial planning. James Cassady, 31, has purchased a condo at Smart Corner with his fiancee. They expect to move in spring or fall of 2007. Cassady works at the W Hotel and it’s his job as chef concierge to be up on the latest and greatest Downtown has to offer. He says living Downtown is a great idea for the younger generation, as long as they can budget enough to enjoy the 92101 amenities. “If you have to pay it all to the mortgage, you can’t afford to play Downtown,” he advises. Cassady would like to see a greater supply of affordable for-sale housing Downtown, a subject the San Diego City Council wrestled with last month when it removed price-controlled for-sale housing from the $1.4 billion Ballpark District project in favor of directing that money on rental property for low income tenants.

Trying to keep Downtown living affordable and hip is OliverMcMillan, offering condos in the $300,000 range. The firm is highly focused on the under-40 buyer. “At Aloft on Cortez Hill, the U40 buyer has been our biggest fan — representing over 60 percent of our total buyers,” says Gilman Bishop, senior project manager at OliverMcMillan. “Thirty-one to 40 is our biggest buyer.” Careful attention to amenities is a key way OliverMcMillan reaches its buyers. “In regards to exterior design, we have gone with modern architecture and coupled it with spa-like design of the common areas to facilitate a feeling of calm in the middle of the city. Certain elements bring it together, like sunning patios, pool, Jacuzzi, bamboo garden and sun-filled foyers. You’ll find it is directed toward a hip, urban crowd. I’ve found that loft-style living encourages creativity.”

Bishop says the marketing materials extend that feeling by casually appealing to the buyer as opposed to yelling or barking — more like a friend than a target.

Downtown no longer is just for the wealthy and retired looking to buy a second home or downsize to a million-dollar palace with sweeping views. The evolution has a new species of buyers and now appears to have a cooperative marketing campaign designed to attract them.