University City design-build · Since 2005
University City home remodeling, designed and built by one team.
Accredited, certified and held to accountCalifornia contractor #922807, in business in San Diego for 21 years
University City · San Diego County
Whole home remodels, kitchens, bathrooms, additions and ADUs in University City.
University City's 1960s and 1970s tract homes around Governor Drive and the newer homes of north UC are made for opening up: kitchens to family rooms, family rooms to the yard.
Kaminskiy Design and Remodeling was founded in San Diego by Sergei Kaminskiy in 2005 and is still founder-led. In University City our designers, architectural drafters and project managers take your home from the first sketch to the final walkthrough, on one contract, and we handle the plans and permits with the City of San Diego. No handoffs, no finger-pointing, no surprises.
Start with a complimentary consultationWhat to know first
University City is two neighborhoods: 1960s ranches to the south, condos and towers to the north. Here is what shapes a remodel.
South University City, around Standley Park and Governor Drive, is 1960s and 1970s single-story and split-level homes on quiet streets, many owned by the UC San Diego faculty and staff who bought them new. North University City, around UTC and the trolley, is 1970s and 1980s condominiums and townhomes with newer towers rising among them. The City of San Diego issues the permits, the southern homes are past the 45-year review, the northern ones run under their associations, and Rose Canyon brings brush management to the rim lots. We have not yet published a University City project; our nearest work is in La Jolla and Clairemont, five minutes either way, and it is shown below, labelled as such.
University City, San Diego County. Our Design Center in Rancho Bernardo is about 20 minutes away off peak; the first meeting is at your home.
University City is a community of the City of San Diego, so permits come from the City's Development Services Department. Most remodels are a building permit with no hearing; the University Community Planning Group sees discretionary projects. The homes sit east of Interstate 5, so no coastal permit or coastal height limit applies.
Our architectural team draws it, files it and handles every question the plan checker sends back.
South UC's houses are single-story ranches and split-levels with a closed kitchen, a formal living room, small baths and the original systems, often never remodeled because the same family has lived in them since the 1960s. The remodel opens the kitchen to the family room, raises the ceiling where the attic allows, carves a suite from two bedrooms and replaces the wiring and plumbing. Our Clairemont Mesa universal design remodel in the gallery is the same house, one canyon south.
Every original South UC house is past the City's 45-year threshold, so a permit that changes the exterior gets a historical review first. Tract homes almost always clear within ten business days, and interior-only work is exempt. A few mid-century modern houses on the canyon rims are the ones looked at more closely. We fold the review into the permit.
Source: City of San Diego, historical reviews for structures over 45 years
North UC's condominiums and townhomes from the 1970s and 1980s run under their associations: what can change inside the unit, working hours, staging and what the building's plumbing stacks allow. We read the CC&Rs before the first sketch and submit to the association and the City together. The remodel is a kitchen opened where the wall allows, a bath rebuilt on the existing drains, and finishes that make a 1980s unit new.
Rose Canyon and the finger canyons put many University City lots in the City's brush management zones, which shape what can be built and planted near the slope. Outdoor living and additions on those lots are designed to the zones; the view across the canyon is the reward.
Many South UC owners are retired from the university and intend to stay in the house they bought in 1968. The remodel they ask for is universal design that does not look like it: a no-step entry, a curbless shower, wider doors and better light. State law also allows an ADU on their lots, and a backyard unit for a graduate student or a caregiver is a common plan.
To orient yourself: Governor Drive and Genesee Avenue cross at the heart of South UC near Standley Park, UC San Diego sits to the west across the freeway, UTC and the trolley anchor the north, and Rose Canyon runs between the two halves. Our nearest projects are in La Jolla and Clairemont. Finishes are chosen at our Design Center in Rancho Bernardo, about 20 minutes away; your designer comes to you for the first meeting.
What we design and build in University City
University City remodeling services: five ways to fall back in love with your home.
01 · Most requestedWhole Home Remodeling
Two rooms or the entire floor plan, designed as one cohesive home instead of a collection of projects.
Whole home remodels
02Kitchen Remodeling
Custom cabinetry, islands that work, lighting in layers. Designed around how you cook and gather.
Kitchens
03Bathroom Remodeling
Spa primaries, hall baths, universal design.
Bathrooms
04Room Additions
Build out or build up. Additions that look original.
Additions
05ADUs and Conversions
Detached casitas, attached suites, garage conversions.
ADUsRemodeling in University City
Every service. One local team.
Whole home remodels, kitchens, bathrooms, additions, ADUs and outdoor living, all designed and built by the same team, all in University City.
Nearby neighborhoods
We work in every neighborhood of San Diego County. See all thirty-seven neighborhood pages or schedule a consultation.
Recent work near University City
Recent remodels close to University City. Real homes. Real families.
Projects from Clairemont, La Jolla and Mira Mesa, close to University City, designed and built by the same team that would work on your home. Every photo is a Kaminskiy project.
The University City remodeling guide
What we remodel in University City, room by room.
What University City homeowners ask us for, room by room. Our La Jolla and Clairemont projects, five minutes either way, are in the gallery below.
The 1960s ranch done once: plan opened, ceilings raised where the attic allows, every system replaced, a suite made from two bedrooms. In the north, a condominium rebuilt within its walls under the association's rules.
Whole home remodelingBehind a wall off the entry in nearly every South UC plan. The wall comes down, a beam carries the roof, the island replaces the small table, and the 100-amp panel is upgraded. Our La Jolla kitchens in the gallery show the finish.
Kitchen remodelingWhat a kitchen costs in San Diego in 2026
The 1960s bath is five by eight feet. A real suite comes from the adjacent closet or bedroom; a curbless shower, as in our Clairemont Mesa project, is the request we hear most.
Bathroom remodelingA single-story ranch on a slab takes a ground-floor addition well, within the City's floor area limit and, on a canyon rim, the brush management zone.
Room additionsA garage conversion or a compact backyard unit near the campus, permitted by the City with no HOA in the way on most southern streets.
ADUs and conversionsA covered patio off the kitchen, a yard that works, and on the rim lots a deck toward Rose Canyon within the brush management rules.
Outdoor livingOur Clairemont Mesa universal design remodel in the gallery is the template for South UC: a ranch made to stay in, with nothing that reads as a concession.
Universal designGood questions
University City remodeling FAQ: a few straight answers before you call.
Permits with the City of San Diego, timelines, where you choose materials, and what the first meeting costs. More on the full FAQ page.
Read all FAQsNot on a project in our gallery yet. Our nearest work is in La Jolla and Clairemont, five minutes either way, in the same post-war housing, and it is in the gallery below.
If the permit changes the exterior, yes: the City reviews structures 45 years or older first. Tract homes almost always clear within ten business days, and interior-only work is exempt.
Yes. The association's rules decide what can change inside the unit, the working hours and what the building's plumbing allows, and the City of San Diego issues the permit. We read the CC&Rs first and submit to both.
Nothing. The in-home design consultation is complimentary anywhere in University City. A designer comes to your home, listens to what you want to change, takes measurements and photos, and tells you honestly whether we are the right fit for the project.
We do. Permits for University City homes are issued by the City of San Diego. Our design and architectural team drafts the construction documents, a licensed structural engineer stamps them where the scope calls for it, and we submit them and manage the whole process for you.
All of University City, zip code 92122, and the neighborhoods around it: La Jolla, Sorrento Valley, Clairemont and Mira Mesa. If your street is not on our list, call us anyway. We serve every city in San Diego County.
A kitchen remodel usually takes about 4 to 8 months from the first consultation to completion. A bathroom typically takes 3 to 5 months. The design and permit phases come first, and construction is the shorter part. Permit review times vary with the City of San Diego, and we plan around them.
At the Kaminskiy Design Center, 12396 World Trade Dr, Suite 108, San Diego, CA 92128, with your designer. Most clients visit once or twice during the design phase. The first meeting, though, happens at your University City home.
Yes. Kaminskiy Design and Remodeling is a fully licensed and insured California contractor, license #922807, in business in San Diego since 2005.
Start here
Schedule your complimentary in-home design consultation anywhere in University City.
- A designer comes to you, measures, listens and shares first ideas.
- No pressure and no obligation. We tell you if we are not the right fit.
- Our Client Care team calls back during the time slot you choose.