The long-vacant Consulate Hotel in Point Loma is trading in suitcases for sofas as it reopens as Celeste Point Loma, a 127-unit apartment complex aimed at young professionals and students. The former hotel is now filled with studio and one-bedroom apartments that are being pre-leased, and management says move-ins are expected to start next month. The project keeps much of the old hotel’s exterior while updating the interiors with modern finishes and shared amenity spaces.
Developer And Project Basics
Encinitas-based Ambient Communities is steering the conversion and marketing the property under its new name, Celeste Point Loma. According to Ambient Communities, the former hotel is being rebuilt into 127 studio and one-bedroom homes and is listed as “Opening Early 2026.” The company notes the property sits a couple of blocks from the waterfront and that upper floors offer views of the San Diego skyline.
Where It Sits And What The Homes Include
The project’s website puts the address at 2901 Nimitz Blvd and highlights in-unit washers and dryers, dishwashers and stainless steel appliances in the apartments. Shared perks at the property include a pool and spa, outdoor fireplace and lounge areas, a communal kitchen, gated parking and EV charging stations, according to Celeste Point Loma. Select units are also marketed with skyline and bay views from the upper floors.
Rents, Affordability And Openings
Local coverage reports that rents at Celeste start in the low $2,000s and run up into the low $3,000s, depending on unit type and any upgrades. The same reporting notes that four apartments will be income-restricted, with rents in the roughly $1,447 to $1,550 range, and that the property is already accepting applications, as reported by 10News.
“If you’re going to graduate school, if you get your first job this is a community that people like to live in,” Ambient principal Robert Honer told 10News, describing Celeste as a lower-cost option for people new to the area. Honer also said the team kept most of the building’s outer structure in place to help control costs, focusing investment instead on shared amenity spaces so that the smaller units still work for residents’ social lives.
Where This Fits In The Market
Converting shuttered hotels into apartment buildings has become one way developers are trying to add housing quickly while reusing existing structures, a trend noted in coverage of the Celeste project by Travel And Tour World. In a tight rental market, turning old hotel rooms into long-term homes is about as close as it gets to a shortcut.
Local rent data compiled by RentCafe show that most one-bedroom listings in Point Loma fall between roughly $2,500 and $3,000 a month. That means Celeste’s lower starting rents could come in under the neighborhood norm, which is likely to catch the eye of grad students and first-time hires who do not have tech-exec budgets…