Eugene Marchese, managing director of Constellation Property Group, near the site of Embassy 1414 at West Ash and Columbia streets.

Australian architect/developer Eugene Marchese likes to be close to his development projects, the better to keep a handle on things. So he’s purchased a home in Coronado for himself and his family — 7,500 miles from his hometown of Sydney.

“I’ve made 19 trips to the U.S. since October of last year,” says Marchese. It convinced him that he ought to just move here. “Coronado was the closest thing to Sydney (in environment) that we found.”

Marchese, his wife and two boys, 6 and 4 years of age, will be close enough to his three U.S. development projects, all in San Diego, including the multimillion-dollar Embassy 1414, a stylish 27-story, 98-unit condominium building set to begin construction in February at West Ash and Columbia streets Downtown. The condos will start at $750,000 and Marchese figures buyers will be people 45 and older who desire homes within walking distance of attractions provided by the Gaslamp Quarter but far enough away to avoid boisterous crowds. A sales office is at 1133 Columbia St. (619) 234-3032.

Rendering of Embassy 1414, a 27-story, 98-unit condominium project.

Marchese, 40, is managing director of Constellation Property Group and principal of Marchese + Partners, intertwined companies that design and build condominiums (constellationproperty.com). Its other San Diego projects are Stella, an 87-unit condo development on Hancock Street near Old Town, which sold out in 10 days and is to open in 2007, and Revolution, a 365-unit condominium development bounded by 11th and 12th streets and National City Boulevard in National City, which also will finish in 2007. The company, says Marchese, is designing two other projects for Las Vegas.

Press releases put out by Constellation describe each of the executive-style three-bedroom residences at Embassy 1414 as “inspired by the human form, carefully crafted to mimic the flow of feminine curves, right down to arching balconies that wrap around the exterior.” Marchese simply says they are “sort of in the Neo-Modernist ’30s and ’40s style, but softened.” Embassy 1414 will include an aqua-jet lap pool at the top of its tower, a fully equipped gym, steam room and Zen garden. At the street level will be a Euro-style food market. Basement parking and a 24-hour concierge service also are offered.

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Downtown San Diego’s first Class A office condominium project will break ground in November, a $23 million, nine-story building that will offer 27 office condo suites starting in the low $500,000s. The 80,000-square-foot MetroWork will be built on the block bounded by India and Columbia, A and Ash streets. Howard Berkson is developing MetroWork as managing partner of 1350 Columbia Street LLC. Sales for the project have begun. Occupancy is scheduled for November 2006.

“This is the best time imaginable to introduce office condos to the Downtown San Diego market,” says Berkson. “Interest rates are very favorable, demand for Class A office space exceeds supply in Downtown San Diego’s central business district, while rental rates continue to rise.”

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The Fourth Avenue Corporate Center at 1551 Fourth Ave. will be converted to residential condominiums following its sale to 1515 Partners LLC, a limited liability company managed by Skandia Construction Services. The buyer paid $18.6 million for the property.

The seller, JM 43 LP, purchased the building in 2004 for $15.2 million with the intention of relocating there, but decided instead to stay in Mission Valley. The office building was half leased at the time of the 2004 sale. However, Skandia has bought out a majority of the existing tenants so that it can be converted to residential condominiums. Skandia has plans to develop additional condos on the same Downtown block.

Tony Russell and Chris Hobson of Grubb & Ellis/BRE Commercial represented JM 43 LP in this transaction, as well as the October 2004 sale. Tim Winslow and Josh Vasbinder, also of Grubb & Ellis/BRE Commercial, represented 1515 Partners LLC in the sale.

Downtown Relocations features news on firms that are abandoning, moving into or expanding in the 92101 ZIP code. Send submissions to Manny Cruz, manny@sandiegometro.com.