By Tyler Faurot / Pt Loma-OB Monthly SDU-T / May 9, 2025
Following its acquisition in March by North Star Homes LP, some businesses at Point Loma’s Cañon Street Marine Center have closed or moved, with those that remain left in “limbo.”
The Marine Center includes two adjacent properties at 2810-2832 Cañon St. and 1101-1111 Scott St. At the time of the sale, the property was fully leased to nine tenants, and commercial real estate firm Intersection, which represented the seller, Cañon Street Properties, boasted the center had gone eight years with no tenant turnover.
But nearly two months into the new ownership, some businesses already have closed or relocated — though North Star Homes, which owns and operates other retail properties in San Diego County, plans to hold the Marine Center as a long-term investment and is expected to maintain it as a commercial center, according to Intersection and Strom Commercial, which represented North Star Homes in the purchase.
The catch is in the rent.
Intersection said at the time of the $8.2 million sale — the property’s first ownership change — that “the new ownership intends to evaluate and renegotiate below-market leases to ensure continued strong financial performance.”
For Pummaro Pizzeria, on the west side of the property at 1101 Scott St., that meant a sharp rent increase that resulted in its abrupt closure April 19, according to owner Fabio Speziali. He said the restaurant was paying about $5,000 a month in August, but by the time of its closure, it was being charged about $12,000 a month. Pummaro, like many of the businesses in the Cañon Street Marine Center, was operating on a month-to-month rental agreement.
“It’s unfortunate what happened,” Speziali said. “But there is no hard feeling about it.”
That isn’t the case with local resident Barbara Franklin, who said “This is not what a nice landlord does. I’ve heard The Elegant Truffle is barely able to hang in there with the rent raised so much.” The Elegant Truffle, a chocolate shop at 1111 Scott St., has nearly two years left on its lease. Owner Jennifer Marie said the recent changes have brought a sense of instability. “We’re all scrambling,” Marie said of the center’s remaining businesses. “This is playing Monopoly with people’s lives.”
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Of course, North Star Homes also owns the property at 1004 Rosecrans, the site of the very controversial 4-story, 56-unit proposed project.
