Hughes Marino Headquarters

An office building on the corner of Front and Beech gets a first-class facelift, the Hughes Marino Headquarters went from a 80’s stucco building to a remodeled industrial structure.
The building’s lobby looks less like a corporate waiting area and more like a living room, with custom sofas and leather chairs An 80-inch flat-screen displays employee family photos, while a baby grand piano synchs with an iPod and plays itself. Every Tuesday, all 25 employees gather around these concrete-topped farm tables. (There are two, pushed together to create a longer look.) “It’s great because the guys can’t mess it up,” Shay says. “I’m a little more protective of the marble.” The fully functioning kitchen has two Sub-Zeros, two dishwashers, and an industrial oven. “We wanted to be able to actually cook in it,” she explains. “It’s definitely not for show.”

An in-house construction management team completely gutted the interior, except for the perimeter walls and ceiling. Shay says the former building, which (ahem) used to house the offices of San Diego Magazine, was “very unattractive. Outside there was ’80s stucco; inside it was like Miami Vice.” But, “it had great bones,” she adds. “It was filled with light, even on a gray day.” Original remnants include the skylights and trusses, which used to be white. During the renovation, workers painted all the metal dark bronze to highlight the architectural features and add contrast.
The commercial brokerage firm added red brick to the exterior and entryway. Cool factor: The material was salvaged from an old tear-down in the Midwest. The owners chose brick because “we wanted it to feel historic and timeless.”