If George Jetson had to trade Orbit City for San Diego, he’d probably feel at home in Mission Hills’ newest home.

The 3,820 square-foot house at 540 Otsego Drive stands out in its neighborhood with a box design that looks like an Apple store in the middle of the suburbs. It comes with modern amenities like solar panels, large open floor plan, retractable patio doors and a 70-foot glass window covering the front of the house.

For sale for $2.3 million, the ultra-modern property was designed by San Diego-based Nakhshab Development & Design, known for local projects such as Bodhi Animal Hospital in North Park.

The Mission Hills home was built on a steep vacant lot, which deterred previous owners from developing it.


(Susana Mora, Coldwell Banker West )

Architect Soheil Nakhshab said the project allowed him to be more creative than with larger projects and he drew inspiration from San Diego’s canyons.

“Most of the time, builders do very invasive, intrusive buildings. What we wanted to do was sustainable design methods where the home is actually floating over the slope,” he said. “It preserves the natural feel of the urban canyons.”

The parcel was purchased by Nakhshab’s company in May 2014 for $312,500, according to property records. It took out a $1.2 million mortgage for construction.


(Susana Mora, Coldwell Banker West )

Susana Mora, the real estate agent with the listing and Nakhshab’s wife, said in the eight days the home has been on the market she has received at least 20 calls about the property.

Nakhshab said they would like to sell to a person who will live in the home on a daily basis, unlike some higher-end buyers who would typically just use the home as a second or third property.

The property’s design is almost entirely set up on a single level. An elevator and stairs are used to access the home from street level. It is gold LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified.


(Susana Mora, Coldwell Banker West )

Coming with six bedrooms and five bathrooms, there are also two additional rooms for guests with private access. It also has a fireplace, and the roof can be used for entertaining with plenty of space for a hammock, dinner table and plants.

The cost of the Mission Hills home is $1.6 million more than the median home price for a newly built house in San Diego County, CoreLogic data from August shows.