Residents in Golden Hill are worried about a proposed eight-story, 180-unit apartment complex that could be built where three single-family homes used to stand on A Street.

The audience scoffed and booed representatives of CEDARst Companies, as they presented their building plan during a community meeting at Pathfinders in South Park.

“We’re not for predatory capitalism. We’re not just for people coming in and saying, ‘We’re going to upscale a neighborhood and make it not able to serve, you know, unaffordable,” said John Mc Nab, a longtime resident and member of Save Greater Golden Hill.

Developers responded to the criticism and answered questions about the proposed development for an hour and a half via teleconference, instead of in-person, as requested. But much of their response was drowned out by incensed residents.

“We are not predatory capitalists,” said a CEDARst representative, who’s response was met by a chorus of boos and laughter.

The Nash on Park Boulevard in Hillcrest is a similar 190-unit apartment complex CEDARst built. Golden Hill residents say they don’t want a similar “monstrous” development in their neighborhood, destroying its charm.

“I would ask them to downscale it and keep it in character,” said David Wylie, another longtime resident and member of Save Greater Golden Hill.

Neighbors also peppered developers about things like infrastructure concerns, traffic safety with a school right across the street, how much parking will be available for tenants and affordability.

“Just because something’s affordable, it’s affordable for who? Somebody making $80,000, $90,000 a year, which is what their target goal is,” Mc Nab said. “You’re wiping out an entire neighborhood that serves the needs of the lower-income working class.”

CEDARst says that in addition to eight deed-restricted lower-income units, 51% of the complex will be luxury apartments at an affordable price. They say they’re also providing 149 paid parking spaces for the 180 units.

“You and I can both do the math. Most families have two cars. That’s 360 cars and 145 spots. I would ask them to downscale it to three stories and address the parking situation adequately, with two spots per unit,” Wylie said.

During the standing-room-only meeting, a sea of hands sprang into the air when someone blurted out, “Who wants this out of here?”

Developers say they could compromise on adjusting the building design to help appease residents. They noted that everything, within reason, is on the table. Developers have said the project will take a little more than two years to build.

Members of Save Greater Golden Hill say they’ve hired an attorney to fight the project.