Monarch Hillside
Chollas View // A big splash near Chollas Creek
Maxwell Gergen, Writer & Advocacy Lead
Image from AO Architects
Monarch Hillside is a 6-floor 249-unit mixed income housing complex currently under construction in the Chollas View neighborhood of southeast San Diego. Near Euclid Avenue Station, it will be the first large mostly market rate housing project in the area since 2019, bringing lots of interesting design decisions and trade-offs to its steep hillside lot.
Since the project's groundbreaking in October 2025, Monarch Hillside has made substantial progress in a short amount of time, with many of the retaining walls for the project currently under construction and with earthworks largely completed.
Image from Next Phase Construction
The land was originally taken up by an array of smaller apartment buildings ranging from two to eight units alongside a single-family home on a large lot. As part of the Monarch Hillside project, all this space will be combined, and replaced with five dense apartment buildings and a 39-townhome development in a future phase. The project was originally planned to be 10% affordable, as required under local law. But it was then changed to 20% affordable after a grant from the San Diego Housing Federation (SDFC) in 2025, and to a total of 40% affordable units after a 12 million dollar investment, primarily from the Prebys Foundation and Jewish Family Services of San Diego. This brings the total affordable unit number to over 100 affordable units. The Area Median Income (AMI) of the affordable portion is split among the funds: the SDHF portion is for residents making between 30% and 50% AMI for 50 units, and the rest of the affordable units are for residents between 30% to 80% AMI.
Image from AO Architects
The Monarch Hillside development was designed by Orange County based AO Architects in the Tropical Modernism style, with extensive use of wood and metal slat elements to allow the breeze through while providing shade, and with lots of outdoor spaces and amenities. This style is complemented by well-placed green space next to the apartments, green walls used sparingly around the complex, and shade structures where needed. Its facade is broken up by brick-style blocks, framed with a white architectural element and more wood throughout. The leasing center building somewhat contrasts the style of the apartments, with metal elements in a 3 story structure with a glass facade, metal, concrete, and a green wall of plants. The style is fairly consistent with other modern developments around San Diego while still having some character, primarily with the use of the tropical wood elements.
Additionally, Monarch Hillside is the first in San Diego to use AO Architects’ HyTuck building design solution, which–per AO Architects–allows for 40 to 45 dwelling units per acre (du/ac) on a 4 story building and 46 to 50 du/ac on a 5 story building. This project will be 43 du/ac using this design due to some modifications required by the steep terrain. The main aspect of the HyTuck design is “tucking” the parking under an above development using tandem garages to gain extra depth. Monarch Hillside adapts this design by utilizing the site’s steep slope to save on excavation costs—however, this causes only one side of the buildings to have these tucked parking garages. To compensate, the development is also encased by surface parking.
Image from AO Architects
This parking contributed to a concern from the Chollas Valley Community Planning Group regarding the amount of stormwater runoff a lot of this size would create. A Monarch consultant has stated that under current regulations, they are to store stormwater runoff onsite, and slowly release it into the stormwater system. However, due to the sheer size of the paved area and the steep slope of the site, this may still be a concern.
Image from AO Architects
The Monarch Hillside complex has many amenities. There will be rooftop spaces atop two buildings, and a California room (a partially outdoors room) also in the aforementioned buildings. There will be a central area, which Monarch calls the Piazza, with "resort style amenities" including a pool, jacuzzi, an additional clubroom in one building, and a fitness center in the other. There will also be a pickleball court, a bike room, a coworking space, and a wellness center. However, it is unknown as of now where they are located within the development.
Image from AO Architects
The location is very central to public transit, as well as convenient to pedestrians and cyclists. Market Street in front of the project sports a protected bikeway. The project is also a five minute walk away from Euclid Avenue Transit Center, hosting the Orange Line Trolley and MTS bus routes 3, 4, 5, and 955—as well as route 13, the 2nd highest ridership bus route in San Diego, and other bus connections.
Despite the location being across the street from Hawk Pocket Park, because the property is not being planned with a walkway to Guymon Street, there is no convenient access to the park and neighboring Elementary School. The cost to do so was estimated at around $10-$20 million, according to a Monarch consultant. However, there is still a short walk to the Chollas Creekside Park, the Malcolm X library branch, and the Market Street Amphitheater, alongside the Euclid Plaza shopping center.
Image from AO Architects
With a great location, unique design methodology, and a dense form factor, Monarch Hillside is an exciting first step toward both market-rate and mixed-rate density in a neighborhood that has not had many development projects until very recently.
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