Topaz Mixed-Use Student Housing

Topaz is a ground-up, mixed-use student housing development serving San Diego State University (SDSU) students. The project features 53 units and 169 beds, with restaurant and retail spaces at street level and shared amenity areas on the second and third floors. Located in a transit-priority zone just two blocks from an underground trolley station, Topaz embraces urban living and promotes a car-free lifestyle.

Through its landscape and site design, McCullough created a unique public realm that relates to its surroundings while standing out, offering a streetscape inspired by San Diego’s canyons and coastal vistas. Rich, textural paving, site furnishings, native and climate-appropriate plantings, and integrated public art all contribute to a design that elevates the pedestrian experience and reflects a sense of place.

Functionality and sustainability are deeply embedded in the project’s design. Residents are welcomed by a grand stair that leads to the second-floor amenities, framed by custom raised planters filled with low water-use shrubs and ornamental grasses. The third floor provides shaded common areas, drawing from the feeling of being in one of San Diego’s cool, quiet canyons and offering space for students to relax, gather, and engage with the vibrant street life below.

The project also features a thoughtful stormwater management strategy that includes an on-site raised planter system to intercept rooftop runoff, directing water to a subterranean Modular Wetland System. This system captures, treats, and detains all site runoff before it enters the City’s stormwater system, demonstrating a commitment to ecological responsibility and urban resilience.

With its mix of student housing, retail, and activated public space, Topaz contributes positively to the community by enhancing the neighborhood’s livability, walkability, and character, adding vibrancy to a key university-adjacent corridor. Notably, the project transforms the former site of a freestanding McDonald’s drive-through restaurant, thoughtfully integrating an updated McDonald’s location at street level. This sensitive reuse supports the neighborhood’s evolving urban fabric while maintaining familiar community amenities.