A resident of The Grande on Pacific Highway uses a treadmill machine in the fitness center. (photo/lambertphoto.com)

The charms of Downtown living are vast and varied, including restaurants and movies, bookstores and the ballpark. But many people who live here want more than valet parking and gourmet food — they seek a healthier lifestyle that pays tribute to San Diego’s usually glorious weather.

“All of Downtown is a playground,” says Russ Haley, vice president of CityMark Development. “There are yoga classes, tennis and basketball courts and two municipal golf courses close by.”

Haley, fresh from a run along the Embarcadero, says he sees lots of Downtown residents walking, jogging and biking along the harbor.
“Living Downtown is about getting out of your car and having more time to be outdoors, enjoying an active life,” he says. “Balboa Park is your neighborhood park.”

Even if people spend the time outside their buildings swilling martinis over haute cuisine appetizers or sipping lattes and shopping for books — or working long hours — most residential buildings have fitness centers for quick and convenient workouts.

“People are definitely using them,” says Dennis Serraglio, who is director of sales and marketing for Bosa Development. “People expect their building to have one and it’s one of the most highly used amenities.”

Fitness centers are almost standard in large projects. K. Hovnanian is building fitness centers into its projects in the Gaslamp and Little Italy. There are a dozen lap pools within a mile of City Hall. Even Cisterra Partners’ DiamondView Tower office building will have an oversized lap pool as well as a second-floor fitness club.

City Terraces, one of the first Downtown condo buildings, has a terrific fitness center, reports Lee Mullinax. “The older buildings allocated more space for that because it wasn’t at a premium,” he says. “Builders understand that fitness centers are important to San Diegans and have been for a long time.”

Every one of the Bosa Development’s buildings — seven completed and six in the works — has a fitness center, Serraglio says. Many have pools.

“A good fitness center has elliptical trainers, treadmills, Stairmasters and, if there’s room, some free weights,” he says. “It’s cleaned and maintained and the lighting is pleasant. If you can have a view, that’s even better.”

Residents really appreciate the convenience of being able to grab a workout at home — but not at home, Mullinax says.

“Women seem to prefer a more secure, more private environment than the big, bright, noisy gyms,” he says. “We’ve never studied the patterns of use, but the fitness centers are always being used at our projects, from early in the morning until late at night.”

Amenities have changed as people’s ideas about fitness have changed. Cardio with strength training is far more popular than weight machines these days. The patio and lounging pool have given way to the lap pool, for example. “Between skin problems and people not having time to lounge around in the sun, the lounge pool is over,” Mullinax says. “But the lap pools really get used — at Treo, I see people there at 11 p.m.”

Plenty of projects also have been built without fitness centers, says Haley.

From the waterfront to Balboa Park, Downtown offers walkers, joggers and runners an ever-evolving cityscape. (photo/lambertphoto.com)

“There’s a segment of the market, the higher end buildings, where people expect a fitness center,” says Haley, whose firm developed the Doma and M2i projects. “But you don’t need it in the mid-priced market, and people are aware it raises their homeowner association fees.”

Nor is every Downtown resident mad for the fitness center. Gary Smith, who lives on Kettner Boulevard and is very active in Downtown planning, says they are nice but not always useful.

“Fitness centers are great for self-starters,” Smith says. “For those of us who need a little organization, there are plenty of small gyms and places like the Pilates Room in walking distance.”

Smith goes to the Purefitness Westside Athletic Club – one of around two dozen Downtown gyms that range from the YMCA, built in 1913 and home to a beautiful tiled swimming pool, to the more specialized clubs, including Curves (for women) and City Boxing.

But for his favorite recreation, Smith heads out the front door on foot, often to the neighborhood park — Balboa Park.

“People forget about the whole east side of Balboa Park,” he says. “There’s a great golf course, football and baseball fields, bike and running trails.”

And there’s the Embarcadero — from the Embarcadero in front of the San Diego Convention Center to Harbor Island — with a wide, clean walkway most of the way. Bicyclists have replaced many of the rollerbladers these days, but the views of the bay remain unforgettable.

“People who live and work Downtown really identify with the harbor,” says Haley. “My wife and I have been running along there for years.”

The San Diego Unified Port District, Centre City Development Corp. and San Diego County are in the throes of the North Embarcadero Visionary Project, a plan to turn the Harborfront from Market Street to Laurel Street into a greener, prettier, wider park. “If we can keep the North Embarcadero Plan on track, we’ll be rid of a lot of asphalt,” Smith says. “It will really dress that space up.”

While the big parks, like the Embarcadero and Balboa Park, attract many fitness lovers, the small parks offer lots of outdoor fun and comfort too.

CCDC has 10 acres of Downtown parks planned, says Nicole Haines, an associate projects manager at CCDC.

“We have a series of parks — I call them pocket parks — planned,” she says. “We’ve found a lot of people want flexible space for a variety of activities, so we are looking at different designs and uses for each one.”

For example, a project for Date Street at 10th Avenue, tentatively called Tweet Street, may include a dog park. It’s called Tweet Street because of the bird houses made by local artists there now.

The North Embarcadero Visionary Project promises to turn the Harborfront from Market Street to Laurel Street into a greener, prettier, wider park and pedestrian pathway.

And there will be more piazzas in Little Italy, she says. “They are lovely little spaces where people feel comfortable, and they spend time enjoying it,” Haines says. “It really enhances the neighborhood feel as much as it adds to people’s lives.”

Many Downtown residential and mixed-use buildings demonstrate that developers understand how San Diegans cherish outdoor living. Terraces and courtyards dot Downtown. “Aria on Cortez Hill has 500-600-square-foot terraces with the units, and we try to include courtyards,” Mullinax says. “At the Pinnacle (Museum Tower) and Treo, we’ve got barbecues in the courtyard and we know they get a lot of use.”

City Terraces has a marvelous courtyard, Mullinax says, and DiamondView Towers plans to put barbecues and a terrace on the roof.

With picnic tables and lounge chairs in the landscaped area, people can enjoy the outdoors without leaving home.

Bosa’s next project, an as yet unnamed building on Kettner and Ash, will have a dog walk on the roof, Serraglio says.

Often, Downtown living itself provides plenty of exercise. And more people understand that accumulating short bursts of moderate exercise is just as healthy as a sweaty 45-minute workout. That means a couple of good walks a day can cover those fitness needs.

“With its short blocks and constant improvements, Downtown is getting to be more interesting to walk every day,” Smith says.

And, for many people, commutes are shorter, and driving less frees up more time to enjoy the variety of available fun.

“Condo living gives people the freedom of accessibility and the time to enjoy it,” says Mullinax. “The time you’d spend commuting you can walk over to Little Italy and grab a great cup of coffee.” Or start your day with a run that includes free world-class views.