Selling San Diego’s Biggest Eyesore Property Earned Her An Award

It wasn’t easy selling San Diego’s biggest eyesore property. That’s how many local real estate professionals described a half-acre parcel in the heart of San Diego’s Hillcrest community with a 25,000-square-foot restaurant building that had been abandoned since 1985.

The former Pernicano’s and Casa de Baffi Italian restaurants, 3840 Sixth Ave., San Diego, were opened in 1952 by George Pernicano, a colorful San Diego businessman known for his handlebar mustache and minority ownership of the San Diego Chargers professional football team. The restaurants were visited by celebrities and professional athletes. Pernicano’s was believed to be one of the first Italian restaurants to bring the pizza-by-the-slice concept to the West Coast.

But, then, the Hillcrest Pernicano’s location closed in 1985. “Mr. Pernicano could not bring himself to sell. He was hanging onto the dream of one day being able to reopen it,” said realtor Jeannine Savory, who was successful at selling the property, a feat others had attempted in previous years. “Over the years, the property had become an eyesore. It was vandalized beyond what would be financially feasible to repair. So, the property sat there for 30 years, from an icon to an eyesore.”

George Pernicano passed away in October 2016 at age 98.

In October 2019, Savory closed escrow on the $8.5 million sale of the landmark property to Carmel Partners of San Francisco.

The Greater San Diego Association of Realtors (SDAR) recently honored Savory, head of The Savory Group, affiliated with Coldwell Banker West (CBW), with the Commercial Transaction of the Year award.

Savory said her work on the Pernicano’s property in Hillcrest has been one of the highlights thus far in her career.

“I am very gratified that I was selected by the family to represent them,” said Savory. “The family did their homework and interviewed 14 brokers. We were interviewed four times and we were ultimately chosen to represent the sales and marketing of the property.”

According to Savory, early in the sales process, the deal came close to failing when it was discovered that a proposed downzone was quietly taking place in the community. Savory worked with a consultant, Urban Housing Partners, to form the Hillcrest Gateway Council, a group of infill experts. Over an 18-month period, a series of community meetings were held with community planning groups, city staff and nearby property owners. Some affected property owners were not aware of the proposed downzone.

Savory said as a result of support from local business owners and residents, the San Diego City Council denied the proposed downzone and approved the Hillcrest Gateway Council’s plan to maintain density and create a specific plan that would include road improvements.

“Within two weeks of being on the market, we received 10 full-priced offers,” Savory said. “We researched the potential buyers on their capacities to take on such an important project for the community.”

“The Pernicano family wanted a buyer who would work with the community and local residents to create a beautiful development that would blend well with Hillcrest as a centerpiece of the community,” said Savory. “I have complete confidence the new owner will do an excellent job in revitalizing this urban San Diego property and add vibrant value that the community desires. Development of this property has been long anticipated by the community. Finally, the Pernicano family can put this large financially and emotional concern to rest.”

A native San Diegan, Savory grew up in the East County and graduated from Santana High School in Santee (class of 1998). She obtained her real estate license in 1999 while working full time at a general contracting firm and attending college at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) in Los Angeles. She earned an associate of arts degree in Interior Design and Architectural Space Planning from FIDM, followed by a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.

In her real estate career, she has represented clients in land sales and acquisitions, subdivision services, existing single-family homes and condos, multi-family communities, commercial retail centers, industrial buildings and mid-rise office space transactions consisting of up to 65,000 square feet.

At SDAR’s Circle of Excellence awards event, Savory, a Downtown resident, also received a Recognition of Excellence Platinum award based on sales performance and a 40-Under-40 award. Savory’s Platinum Award was based on individual sales success consisting of at least $50 million in volume or more than 40 units during the time period between Nov. 1, 2018 and Oct. 31, 2019. Savory’s 40-Under-40 award honored SDAR members who were under age 40 prior to Jan. 1, 2020, and are involved in community activities and GSDAR.

“I’m very honored and humbled to receive these awards,” said Savory, a Downtown San Diego resident. “I’m immensely proud of our team’s relentless commitment to excellence and delivering industry-leading service to our clients. We share these awards with our clients and partners and we’re grateful for their trust in us. I look forward to innovation, growth and providing quality results in the future.”