A former IHOP site along Grand Avenue in Pacific Beach has traded hands as a redevelopment play, with the buyer targeting a new multifamily use for the coastal property.
Whitewater Commercial Real Estate, a San Diego-based brokerage focused on multifamily investment sales and development opportunities, reported the closing of the sale at 856 Grand Ave. in Pacific Beach. The site, marketed as a redevelopment opportunity, changed ownership for $8,000,000.
Whitewater Commercial Real Estate represented the buyer, 856 Grand Ave LLC, in the transaction. David Kern of The Mansour Group represented the seller, IMS PB LLC. The deal brings a new owner to a well-known parcel formerly occupied by an IHOP restaurant, one block from the Pacific Ocean.
Carson Trujillo, president of Whitewater Commercial Real Estate, noted that development opportunities of this scale remain scarce in Pacific Beach, particularly along Grand Avenue and within walking distance of the beach. He described the acquisition as an opportunity to reposition a highly visible coastal property in one of San Diego’s most supply-constrained neighborhoods.
The property’s location near the shoreline in one of Southern California’s best-known coastal communities underpins the buyer’s strategy to pursue a new multifamily redevelopment concept. While specific project details have not yet been disclosed, the buyer’s intention is to evaluate multifamily options that leverage the site’s visibility, walkability and proximity to the ocean.
For Pacific Beach, the sale underscores ongoing investor interest in infill redevelopment sites that can support higher and better uses. With former restaurant and retail properties continuing to draw attention for multifamily conversions, the 856 Grand Ave. transaction reflects how coastal neighborhoods with limited available land are seeing older single-use assets transition toward denser residential formats. The current change in ownership marks a step toward that potential repositioning, pending the buyer’s planning and entitlement efforts.
