Point Plaza Voltaire Apartments

Technical Description:

UrbanPond® Concrete Detention 

Point Loma Peninsula, Calif. is an iconic land feature that jets out into the Pacific Ocean and completes the northern rim of the San Diego Bay. Development opportunities or replacement projects in Point Loma are rare due to existing developments and topographical challenges. Site redevelopments in this area require that new construction be more efficient and creative with land usage to maximize opportunities in this region of steep hillsides and ocean fronts. The challenges of the topography require innovative solutions for architects and engineers.

Point Plaza Voltaire Apartments is a triangular redevelopment site featuring steep grading from the highpoint at the intersection of Voltaire and Las Lomas to the busy Nimitz Boulevard below. The builder's goal for Voltaire was to replace an existing commercial building and asphalt parking lot with a state-of-the-art multi-story apartment complex, street-side retail space, and underground parking within a tight trilateral site.

The redesign would increase the imperviousness and density at the site, resulting in a total drainage area of 24,323 square feet. California regulations require full trash capture, while local permits call for bioremediation to promote infiltration.

Engineers designed a treatment train to address storage and treatment goals. The UrbanPond concrete detention system stores all of the site's stormwater runoff. The modules are 5' inside height to fit snugly beneath the building's parking structure. The modules are placed on a concrete foundation slab with multiple holes to promote infiltration into the underlying soils and groundwater table. Storm water that does not infiltrate passes through the Modular Wetlands Linear System. The volume-based Modular Wetland treats 2,200 cubic feet of stormwater with a 33-hour drain down time. Due to the treatment trains' position below street level, a pump system elevates the treated stormwater to a curb outlet.

Technical Description:

UrbanPond® Concrete Detention