Keystone is designed as a vibrant neighborhood hub with open spaces that are fully accessible to the public, rather than being locked behind gates. The Keystone Education District is designed to deliver the amenities neighbors have been seeking for years, including:

• 3 public parks

• A half-mile fitness loop

• Bakeries, coffee shops and other retail

• Childcare providers

• Community swimming pool for neighborhood families

• An amphitheater for local events

• A public dog park (with zones for large and small dogs)

• Free community meeting rooms in the refurbished Annex 1

Keystone prioritizes student safety at Birney Elementary by placing all vehicle movement and all 1,514 parking spaces completely below grade. This strategy eliminates surface-level car traffic, creating a calm network of people-first streets that supports safe routes to school.

Underground parking is just one of the many Transportation Demand Management (TDM) measures in the Keystone plan to reduce neighborhood car congestion. Pedestrian safety and regional connectivity are foundational to the master plan, which features well-lit, landscaped pathways that link directly to the Normal Street Promenade.

Keystone includes dedicated NS/EW corridors that turn the property into a community bridge, allowing neighbors to move through the area safely and comfortably. These shaded routes are specifically designed to accommodate all ages and mobility levels, turning simple transit routes into pleasant community experiences.

A dedicated "Play Street" includes integrated play equipment for children and is flanked by cafes with outdoor seating to create a safe, supervised "living room" feel.

Keystone deepens the District's historic partnership with the LGBTQ+ community by designing the campus as a welcoming gateway to the Pride Promenade.

Keystone also includes a permanent avenue of flags at the entrance to honor diverse communities -- including the LGBTQ+ and Juneteenth flags -- continuing the District's commitment to provide a welcoming place for all.

By maximizing the number of new mixed-income residents living in a bike-friendly, pedestrian-friendly community, Keystone ensures the long-term vitality of Hillcrest's small businesses. Keystone delivers large numbers and ensures new residents will walk or bike to do their shopping, instead of driving to a suburban mall. This critical mass of new consumer households is projected to inject $18 million annually into the local economy - 50% more than the closest competing plan.

• Located across the street from rapid transit, Keystone delivers on the transit-oriented development goals in the 2016 and 2024 community plans.

• The 2024 plan predicted the community population would double from the 2016 plan projection, highlighting an urgent need to build more mixed-income housing.

• Both plans called for new housing to be concentrated along existing commercial routes and close to transit.

• Keystone strategically concentrates building height on Normal Street while thoughtfully stepping down to match neighborhood scale with townhomes on Campus Avenue. This massing perfectly achieves the City's goals for both density and sensitive urban design.

• Keystone lines Campus Avenue with true family-sized townhomes and front stoops to match the scale and rhythm of the adjacent single-family fabric.

• By placing two- and three-story townhomes along the Campus Avenue edge, the project provides a graceful height transition that mirrors the surrounding residential scale. This commitment to design excellence ensures a high-quality environment that respects the distinct cultural and aesthetic identity of University Heights.

The Keystone team is led by Mithun, the 2023 AIA Firm of the Year, who have created a campus feel for Normal Street, featuring expansive open space that connects residents and neighbors and organizing development around a sequence of outdoor "rooms" and collegiate-style linked courts. The site plan intentionally "breaks the superblock," replacing an imposing, disconnected parcel with a fine-grained network of publicly accessible streets and pathways.

Keystone is designed with deep sensitivity to the local architectural fabric, utilizing place-based design to ensure the development feels like a natural extension of the neighborhood. By placing all parking below grade, the street level is reserved for front stoops, landscaping, and active retail rather than blank walls or surface lots. The inclusion of front stoops and landscaped setbacks along Campus Avenue further encourages a safe, welcoming "eyes on the street" environment. The project includes a childcare center and 4,000 square feet of micro-retail, serving daily needs without necessitating car trips to other local businesses. This "Shop Life" concept activates ground-floor spaces with independent local businesses and cafes, creating an active and porous edge that invites neighbors into the community.

The Uptown Community Plan and the 2025 Hillcrest Focused Amendment (HFA) call for tall buildings and a density of 110-218 dwelling units per acre across from 4100 Normal Street on the Polk and Normal property. The Keystone plan calls for approximately 111 units per acre, complementing the existing neighborhood character by breaking large structures into smaller articulated volumes with balconies, notches, and varied facades, stepping down heights and using exposed mass timber construction, a sustainable biophilic material that sequesters carbon and creates a high-quality "sanctuary" feel for residents.

University Heights will be a neighborhood of teachers under the Keystone proposal, which has been designed and financed to ensure 100% of the teachers at San Diego Unified are eligible to live there and can afford to do so.

The Keystone proposal is the only one to deliver affordable housing for 10% of the district’s workforce and meet the teachers union’s goal of housing 700 members.

In contrast, research shows more than 70 percent of teachers make too much to qualify for low-income housing projects, yet may not earn enough to afford market-rate housing.

By giving teachers a permanent place in University Heights, Keystone is building a community rooted in stability, service, and connection. Teachers will always be at the core of the neighborhood, working with young people, strengthening civic organizations, and providing a daily example of lives built on public service.