Hotel Sandford

1301 Fifth Avenue, San Diego, CA

The historic Hotel Sandford was built in 1914. It was one of many downtown San Diego hotels built in anticipation of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park. The hotel’s brochure boasted “One hundred and fifty beautiful, sunny, outside rooms.” The original tourist hotel use was changed to affordable senior housing in 1989.

Heritage Architecture & Planning was initially retained by Civic San Diego in to prepare a Condition Assessment Report for the hotel to assist Civic San Diego in the possible acquisition of the property. In 2010, Heritage was contracted by the San Diego Housing Commission to design a complete rehabilitation of the hotel for continued use as a senior housing facility. The restoration included exterior paint, wood window restoration, lighting, HVAC, structural retrofit, re-roofing, upgraded restrooms, and other interior improvements.