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Sandor Shapery
Preservationist of the Year
 Sandor Shapery has personally saved through the purchase, restoration, rehabilitation, and renovation, more buildings from SOHO's Most Endangered List and from our internal watch list than any other person in SOHO's history. His drive to preserve some of the most neglected and endangered of historic resources in San Diego, and to prevail embodies the best of preservation and adaptive reuse.
These projects include:
- His first investment in downtown real estate after graduating Law School, Victoria Square in downtown San Diego, which after adaptively reusing the structures as commercial space, he sold, but then re-purchased in 2008 and has renovated them back into residential use.
- The South Park Historic commercial center, a collection of historic buildings that had been boarded up for 50 years when Sandy purchased and revitalized them and that portion of the neighborhood in doing so. Each building was retrofitted structurally, along with electrical, plumbing, air conditioning, renovation of interiors and restoration to exterior facades.
- The Lyon Building and Lyon Rental, also known as the 15th Street Apartment Hotel on the southwest corner of 15th and J Streets was originally constructed in 1884 as a two-story, Victorian style, mixed-use residential/commercial structure. This and the Victorian vernacular style, residential cottage next door were on SOHO's most endangered list but were considered to be one that would probably be lost as the condition, coupled with the asking price, was beyond what most investors or restorationists would likely tackle. SOHO asked Sandy to take a look at the project and he took it on. An amazing feat that in itself alone would garner preservationist of the year for its sheer effort of structural renovation, seismic retrofit, and the historic restoration/rehabilitation of both buildings, which is still underway.
- And most recently Sandor has taken on one of SOHO's most watched historic buildings in San Diego, the Bay View Hotel. Sited on the northeast corner of Park Boulevard and Island the Bay View is one of the first hotels built in Horton's new downtown San Diego. The one-time elegant hotel had endured hard times with decades of neglect and misuse, and remodel.
Currently under rehabilitation, improvements include the addition of a caged, period elevator for the convenience of guests, bathrooms and kitchens in every suite, and a completely new electrical and mechanical/air conditioning system. Original wood interiors and trim are to be restored and any materials that cannot be restored will be replaced in kind. All furnishings will be period designed pieces built for the rooms based upon original photos of the rooms and a restaurant will be reintroduced on the ground floor.
Sometime during the hotel's history the top floor along with its towers and pitched roof was removed purportedly due to a fire. All of this will be reconstructed and replaced and the Bay view will once again become a prominent meeting place and a cultural, historic and aesthetic amendment to the downtown area.
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