The remaining founder of Trilogy Real Estate Management Inc., Howard Greenberg, is being honored with a lifetime achievement award from Save Our Heritage Organization (SOHO) for his career in converting underutilized historic properties in Downtown San Diego into live/work lofts, hotels and single-room occupancies (SROs). Alongside his late partners Chris Mortenson and Bud Fischer, Greenberg helped revive some of the most iconic historic structures in central San Diego: The Lafayette Hotel, North Park theater (now The Observatory), the Julian Building, and Backesto Building.

Greenberg still runs his company out of the Pioneer Warehouse Lofts, the very first project he worked on. When Greenberg acquired the six-story brick building on the corner of Fourth Ave. and K Street in the ‘80s, only half of the first floor was being utilized for an antique mall. Like many other buildings in Downtown, the rest was dormant. Slated only for commercial use, Greenberg and his partners got the city to pass a Live/Work Ordinance so the upper stories of unused buildings could be converted into live-work lofts for artisans to reside and have work space.

Deal by deal, the partners became experts in adaptive reuse of historic buildings. Keeping the original exteriors intact, which is what most historic preservationists care about, the interiors were renovated into new office and retail space on the ground floor while upper stories had walls removed or added to be turned into open lofts. With just a kitchen and bathroom added to each loft, the open space does not count as a traditional apartment but creative people have optimized the spaces for their craft and living needs.

“My motivation wasn’t to renovate historic buildings, but it turned out to be our focus, because those were the best opportunities to breathe life into a new building, and those were the most economical to buy at the time because no one else could figure out what to do with them,” Greenberg said from his office on the first story of the Pioneer Warehouse. “It turned out to be a passion project, but it didn’t start out to be.”

Greenberg, who started as an accountant in Chicago, ran into Fischer and Mortenson frequently in the ‘80s because so few people were doing business in Downtown. Rather than competing, they decided to join forces in Trilogy. Greenberg was only in his 20s at the time with Fischer and Mortenson being more seasoned businessmen— Fischer with a focus on deal making and Mortenson specializing in design and construction. For his part, Greenberg enjoys the operations and managements side, which he has been focused on for the past 15 years as Downtown became a buzzy, and expensive, place to invest.

“What drives me most is the relationships that I’ve developed over the years with all the tenants and the communities that we’re in,” he said.

While the lofts turned out to be popular with renters, Greenberg said bankers and lenders did not understand the trio’s vision. They raised funds themselves from friends, family and leveraging other properties to purchase foreclosed warehouses, abandoned inns and other industrial properties at auction. When they began working, the Convention Center and Petco Park had yet to be built. The three were some of the early developers responsible for bringing people back to Downtown, reviving over 18 buildings in the neighborhood.

Bruce Coons, SOHO executive director, said, “Without Howard and his company Trilogy’s focused efforts to revive significant old buildings, Downtown San Diego would be a very different place today, one likely lacking much of its early 20th-century warehouse, industrial, and hotel architecture history, fabric, and character.”

Coons noted many people do not realize the breadth and depth of Trilogy’s portfolio. Their work was renowned enough that Chris Kehoe and Toni Atkins tapped them to revive the North Park theater, which they successfully reopened in 2005 after decades of abandonment. “It’s gone through a couple iterations since, but it’s still the renovation that we did that put it on its path to life again,” Greenberg said.

The Observatory now anchors one of the trendiest retail districts of San Diego along 30th St. and University Ave. Trilogy can also be thanked for the North Park Garage, the construction of which was a requirement of the deal to redevelop the 700-seat theater.

Looking back through his career in adaptive reuse of historic buildings, Greenberg cannot pick a favorite project. “They’re all like my kids; I can’t say I like one more,” he said.

Greenberg will be honored at the People in Preservation Awards on Sept. 13 from 4-6 p.m. at Marston House Formal Gardens (3525 Seventh Ave.). Tickets, which are $95 for non-members, must be purchased in advance at SOHOsandiego.org.