Alan Scales, a principal of KTGY architects, said that an award-winning Carlsbad apartment project was designed to reflect its coastal location and blend in with the surrounding community.
Tower 24 Project Earns Kudos from California Building Industry Association
A Carlsbad oceanfront apartment project, Tower24 Ponto Beach, has won several Gold Nugget awards.
Developed by H.G. Fenton, based in Miramar, built by Hallmark Communities, based in Solana Beach, and designed by KTGY, based in Irvine, Tower24 Ponto Beach won the Golden Nugget Grand Award for Best Built-For-Rent Community Product Design and multiple awards of merit for Best Infill Community, Best Multifamily Housing Community and Multifamily Community of the Year.
Presented by the California Building Industry Association (CBIA) and the Pacific Coast Builders Conference (PCBC), the Gold Nugget Awards is one of the most prestigious residential design competitions in North America, now in its 63rd year.
The 4.64-acre site had been an abandoned storage building that was demolished to make way for the new development, said KTGY Principal Alan Scales.
“To the east, we have some existing single-family homes. We actually have a rail line as the immediate neighbor, then the single-family homes,” Scales said. “Part of the design was to protect their views as much as possible.”
The name of the development comes from a nearby lifeguard stand.
Tower24 Ponto Beach has a variety of building types, with apartments ranging from 1,041 square feet to 2,237 square feet.
The first award-winning first phase of the project has 23 buildings covering 4.64 acres. A second phase, undergoing design review, has an additional 120 units in 29 buildings, a recreation center, and 2.88 acres of retail space in two buildings.
Because of the high-end finishes, “Most people would think it’s for sale. It looks like a typical for-sale home,” Scales said.
“Your backyard is the ocean. It’s the beach. You’re a stone’s throw from being on the sand,” Scales said. “It’s a great location for active lifestyles. You’ve got lots of trails along the beach.”
Every apartment has a two-car garage, and the interior layouts offer open-space plans with nine-foot ceilings.
“There’s a variety of different lifestyles that the program provides,” Scales said.
At the western edge of the development, the three-story buildings have rooftop decks overlooking the water and the eastern portion has two-story triplexes overlooking preserved open space with large windows and private outdoor spaces.
“We loaded two-story homes along the edge, trying to do the right thing for the neighborhood and be part of the neighborhood, instead of going for the maximum density,” Scales said. “We didn’t want to design a community that turns its back on the community.”
Alan Scales, a principal of KTGY architects, said that an award-winning Carlsbad apartment project was designed to reflect its coastal location and blend in with the surrounding community.
High Demand
In designing Tower24 Ponto Beach, “We’ve taken a lot of cues from local and adjacent buildings. The intent was to fit in,” Scales said. “The idea was to be part of that community.”
Shared amenities include outdoor green spaces, a club room, a dog run, a pool with cabanas, children’s play structures and pickleball courts. Some of the townhomes also have private yards.
“You’re living a little bit like a single-family home,” Scales said.
The color palette is lighter blues and greens, “very much like what you would see in the adjacent coastal landscape and neighborhoods,” Scales said.
Building facades are predominantly horizontal siding instead of stucco.
Working with H.G. Fenton, KTGY and Hallmark Communities on the project were GMP Landscape Architecture, PLSA Engineering and Ryan Young Interiors.
Construction of Tower24 Ponto Beach comes at a time when apartment projects are in high demand from investors and renters, according to CBRE.
Apartment occupancy rates in the first quarter of 2026 rose to their highest level in three years to 96.2%, CBRE reported.
Monthly rents were also on the rise, reaching a countywide average of $2,863 at the end of the first quarter, according to CBRE.
“People are choosing not to invest in real estate and are perfectly happy paying a rental every month. If something stops working, you can call someone and you don’t have to pay someone,” Scales said. “You don’t have to come up with a big down payment. You can get in sooner rather than later.”
