St. Paul's Cathedral - Residential Community

St. Paul’s Past

St. Paul’s Cathedral evolved from the first Protestant worship service held in San Diego in 1853 at the City’s fledgling courthouse in Old Town. As San Diego grew, so did St. Paul’s congregation. In 1928, the church moved to its current location in the City’s center and became the first official Cathedral of the diocese of San Diego. With Balboa Park as a historic neighbor, St. Paul’s Cathedral is a part of the area’s spiritual and cultural legacy.

The current Cathedral nave and sanctuary were built in the 1950s according to the design of architect Phillip Frohman. However, the current Cathedral structure is not complete, there is no North transept, no North chapel, no chancel extending to 6th Avenue and no tower as envisioned by Frohman.

Building the Future

In 2002, the Chapter appointed several members of the congregation to engage in a Master Plan feasibility study. That study concluded that several of the Cathedral’s goals could be attainable with appropriate use of the land now owned by the Cathedral. The proposed usage included the building and sale of condominiums on the land owned by the Cathedral, but not including the Cathedral Nave, the Great Hall, and the Queen’s Courtyard. Furthermore, the Master Plan committee concluded that the Cathedral’s responsibilities included being good stewards with their assets and that a development plan should be created.

The Master Plan Committee outlined the following goals:

1.		complete the Cathedral in the spirit of Frohman’s original design
2.		endow the Cathedral to continue and expand its ministries
3.		provide new efficient program space for the Cathedral, the Diocese, and the community and new efficient office space for the Cathedral and Diocese.

St. Paul’s Future

St. Paul’s Cathedral entered into an agreement with CLB Partners to jointly create a comprehensive redevelopment program for the properties adjacent to the existing Cathedral. St.Paul’s congregation, community members and CLB Partners worked closely together through a series of workshops and outreach programs to create a program that would meet the needs of the Cathedral and also complement the surrounding neighborhood.

The result is a high-quality residential project that will include resources for congregational programs, the expansion of the Cathedral and high-end condominium homes that offers benefits for both the congregation and community.

Read more about the plans for St. Paul’s Future