THE
MAPLE SQUARE
PROPERTIES
A DESIGN STRATEGY FOR
NEIGHBORHOOD-SCALE VALUE CREATION
The Maple Square Properties reimagine a faltering Main Street retail assemblage for a more walkable & more vibrant downtown.
The Maple Square redevelopment project emerged from multi-year outreach to property ownership as a part of an initiative to identify key Escondido parcels that would drive downtown revitalization while underwriting to above-market returns.
Living in the neighborhood and engaging in civic efforts gave Westpine block-level insight, from nearby multifamily development activity to the city’s plans to reinvest in the adjacent pedestrian plaza, bringing market context that outsiders would have likely missed.
AT THE HEART OF
THE PROJECT:
A differentiated food & beverage experience centered on communal outdoor space & classic urban design.
MAPLE
SQUARE
Anchoring the project is Maple Square, where surface parking is converted into a community square, and a deep commercial building subdivided width-wise to activate its frontage along the existing pedestrian plaza.
This intervention allows the delivery of smaller, more affordable units simultaneously with higher rents per square foot, a win-win for ownership and tenants, all while energizing one of the most visible public spaces in the district.
The most popular neighborhoods in LA – Larchmont, Sunset Junction in Silver Lake, Abbot-Kinney in Venice, HLP along York & Fig – have one thing in common: They're centered around walkable retail corridors which would be illegal to build under our current zoning & building codes.
— Moses Kagan
President, Adaptive Realty
$200MM+ AUM
“
”
A walkable & character-rich corridor in the heart of Downtown Escondido, Grand Avenue blends historic charm, a new $15M streetscape, and residential growth at urban densities of 45-100 dwelling units per acre just steps away.
DESIGN VISION
Brick & Mortar
Americana
Tenant Curation
As Placemaking
Progressive Era
Civic Design
Indoor/Outdoor
Dining Emphasis
INTERVENTIONS FOR REVITALIZATION
EXISTING CONDITIONS
UNDERUTILIZED MAIN STREET FABRIC
LOW PEDESTRIAN COMFORT & PERCEIVED SAFETY
INEFFICIENT FLOOR PLATES FOR SMALL TENANTS
DISCONNECTED PUBLIC AND PRIVATE REALMS
WEAK PLACE IDENTITY
OUR APPROACH
RECONFIGURED STOREFRONTS AND ACTIVATED PUBLIC SPACE
LIGHTING, VISIBILITY, AND HUMAN-SCALED DESIGN
SUBDIVIDED RETAIL BAYS AND FLEXIBLE CONFIGURATIONS
COORDINATED EDGE CONDITIONS AND SHARED SPACES
CLEAR SPATIAL NARRATIVE AND PROGRAMMATIC FOCUS
THE COLLABORATION
THE MAPLE SQUARE PROPERTIES WERE REIMAGINED FOR A LOCAL INVESTOR GROUP THAT BELIEVES DESIGN-LED PLACEMAKING BUILDS BOTH COMMUNITY AND ENDURING VALUE.
Project Team
The transformation of the Maple Square Properties is a collaborative effort between the Urbn Properties team (Mitch Smith and Chris Cordova) and conceptual design studio Westpine (Mark Skovorodko).
Urbn brings hands-on experience in luxury residential renovation to the project while Westpine’s design studio specializes in shaping properties with an experience-driven and brand-focused vision.
