University Club, Downtown’s century-old membership club, will undergo a $2 million renovation from mid June through Labor Day. It will remain open for the duration.

The renovation will largely be aesthetic, modernizing the look of the top story of the Symphony Towers and removing an underutilized fine dining room. It comes a year after the towers’ first floor occupant, the Jacobs Music Center, completed a $125 million renovation. The club’s last refresh was 15 years ago, so some of the décor and furniture became tired, although the ocean views from the second-tallest building in the county never gets old.

“We win the minute people come up and see that view. But, I’m a little hyper critical, so when I start to dig, there’s just opportunities,” said general manager Brian Lee. University Club, founded in 1909, has been located at the Symphony Towers since construction finished in 1989.

Lee promised the renovation will bring new energy into every aspect of the membership experience. The renderings depict a mix of creamy woods and soft grays with infusions of sleek, dark accents. Overall, the goal is modern.

“I think it’s just really represents San Diego, this new look and feel,” Lee said.

For the club’s parent company Invited, the move is a reinvestment in city clubs after golf and country clubs drove revenue during the pandemic. Lee said the pandemic changed what people wanted from a membership club.

More people are co-working in the space where they can also order a meal and connect with others. Adding plugs and more seating suitable for remote work is part of the renovation. “We’re really focused on blurring the lines of home offices,” Lee said.

The walled-off fine dining room never attracted the audience he thought it would as more people were drawn to the community in the lounge. That wall is being torn down so a new sophisticated dining experience can be added to the lounge sans white tablecloths.

Today’s University Club membership is younger and more diverse, reflective of San Diego’s population, while still comprised of the “movers and shakers” of Downtown. B Street, where Symphony Towers is located, with its many financial institutions, were hard-hit during the pandemic. “It’s neat to be part of the story of the comeback of Downtown,” Lee said.

Lee’s own background at renowned San Diego dining destinations like Animae and Herb & Wood influenced the club’s move to improve social programming and update the menu when he came on in 2020. He also recruited top talent like executive chef Frankie Becerra and bartender Joe Bruner.

Once the premier business club of San Diego, University Club has now shifted to blend elements of a social club. Lee noted that many new members come seeking community over business opportunities, although both still exist at University Club.

“I’ll meet a lot of members that are signing up more for business, but end up meeting some of the best friends ever, right? And others are… just here for social and go to… wine dinners, and then they end up getting business out of it, just because they’re in their element, they’re being natural, and it ends up leading to business,” explained Lee.

For more information about University Club San Diego, visit invitedclubs.com/clubs/university-club-atop-symphony-towers.