Stalwart supporter and neighborhood developer receives honor from Senior Community Centers

By Morgan M. Hurley | SDUN Assistant Editor

On Dec. 5, Downtown’s Senior Community Centers renamed a popular computer lab housed within their flagship day center, the Gary and Mary Wellness Center, as “Bud and Esther’s Cyber Café” in honor of San Diego community leaders Bud and Esther Fischer.

Both were in attendance at a ceremony that included Council President Todd Gloria, clients, staff and board members of the Senior Community Centers, and family and friends of the honorees.

“Bud and Esther Fischer have been stalwart civic leaders,” Gloria said after the event. “Between Bud’s work in the fields of development and historic preservation and the couple’s generous philanthropy to places like Senior Community Centers, they are owed the thanks of our City.”

At the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the computer center’s new name, Gloria read a proclamation announcing Dec. 5 as Bud and Esther Fischer Day in the City, and presented it to the couple.

In a career that spans 60 years, Bud Fischer has etched his name in the history and hearts of San Diego, and is credited with the “Renaissance” of North Park.

He was responsible for the restoration of the long-shuttered movie house, now the Birch North Park Theatre, and the neighborhood’s rejuvenation as a hip destination started with this historical restoration. Fischer also helped develop the North Park Parking Structure, located near the theater in the heart of North Park.

“Bud is well known throughout the community as a hard working, conscientious, detail-oriented, fair and generous businessman,” said a press release for the ceremony. “He takes great pride in being family-oriented and consistently patronizes the businesses in the Gaslamp Quarter and North Park.”

As a Downtown developer for decades, Bud Fischer was responsible for renovating and rehabilitating dozens of buildings, including historical landmarks and warehouses, often restoring retail space and turning many others into affordable live or work lofts. Some of the many properties he has restored are the Steele Building, the Pioneer Warehouse Lofts, the Granger Building, the Church Lofts and the St. James Hotel. Trilogy Real Estate Management, a Downtown company he co-owns with Howard Greenberg, manages the developments.

Another such property, the McClintock Warehouse located on Kettner Boulevard next to the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art, was recently repurposed into hip, spacious live and work lofts earlier this year and quickly filled to capacity.

The Fischers began their life-long support of the Senior Community Centers in 1981, when they paid for Christmas dinners and personally served them to its many seniors in need.

The couple, who have been married for nearly 60 years and currently live in North County, recently made an endowment that will provide for the Centers’ Homeless Prevention Program over a 10-year period. The funds will help facilitate the matching of individual clients with a caseworker, who will then connect the client with access to food, housing and counseling.

“It’s this type of long-term support that helps Senior Community Centers provide essential programs and services to seniors in need around San Diego County,” said Paul Downey, Senior Community Centers president and CEO, in the release.

Senior Community Centers was founded in 1970 and provides seniors with nutrition, health, mental health, advocacy, permanent supportive housing and transitional housing for homeless seniors. For more information visit servingseniors.org or call 619-235-6572.