Turquoise Tower fight may head to court
Pacific Beach Fights to Block 23-Story Turquoise Tower
If you have ever strolled down Turquoise Street in Pacific Beach, you know the vibe. Low-slung shops, neighborhood restaurants, the kind of laid-back coastal charm that makes PB feel like PB. Now a Los Angeles developer wants to plant a 23-story skyscraper right in the middle of it.
Developer Kalonymus LLC is proposing a 239-foot mixed-use tower at 970 Turquoise Street that would include 139 hotel rooms, 74 apartments, and ground-floor retail. Only 10 of those apartments would be designated affordable. The $185 million project would obliterate the neighborhood's voter-approved 30-foot coastal height limit, established by Proposition D in 1972, by leveraging California's State Density Bonus Law.
The community response has been volcanic. Neighbors for a Better California, led by PB Planning Group Chair Marcella Bothwell, has organized massive rallies drawing hundreds of residents from Pacific Beach, La Jolla, and Bird Rock. Protest signs reading "Erase the pencil tower from PB" have become a common sight around the neighborhood.
The beloved French Gourmet restaurant, a Turquoise Street institution for 36 years, will shut down after its owner sold the property to Kalonymus for roughly $7 million. That sale gave the developer control of all parcels needed for the project.
Now the fight is escalating. Kalonymus claims the city missed a state review deadline and that the project should be automatically approved. The city fired back, saying the developer submitted incomplete plans and changed the project repeatedly, causing the delays.
Governor Newsom signed SB 92 to prevent exactly this kind of project, but the law took effect January 1, 2026, and does not apply retroactively. Mayor Todd Gloria, Council President Joe LaCava, and state legislators have all voiced opposition, but the legal battle appears headed for court.
The project remains in early review stages, with only two of the typical six or more review cycles completed.
Sources: San Diego Union-Tribune | Times of San Diego | Fox 5 San Diego | NBC San Diego | CBS 8 | OB Rag | Hoodline