House Builder to Buy, Develop La Costa Ranch Land
The Fieldstone Co., a Newport Beach-based house builder, has agreed to purchase La Costa Ranch Co. and its share of 2,800 acres of prime residential property in Carlsbad.
The tentative agreement calls for Fieldstone to pay $250 million to purchase La Costa Ranch, which is owned by BCE Development. Fieldstone officials said they plan to build an estimated 3,500 houses on the site.
If completed, the transaction will also create a partnership between Fieldstone and BCED, a subsidiary of Vancouver-based Bell Canada Enterprises, to develop 1,200 acres in Scripps Ranch.
The purchase of La Costa Ranch is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, said Jim Hansen, regional manager for Fieldstone’s San Diego office. Hansen said the partnership should be arranged by the end of the year.
La Costa Ranch’s property falls within the southern boundary of Carlsbad, one mile east of Interstate 5 and on the fringes of the famous La Costa Resort Hotel & Spa, said Doug Avis, president of La Costa Ranch Co.
Originally, prospective developers eyed the property for as many as 9,000 housing units, Avis said. But, under the Carlsbad Growth Management Plan, which was approved by voters in 1986, the housing density for the property was reduced to about 3,500 units.
“The Growth Management Plan, which resulted in low density and new zoning ordinances, has dramatically changed the tone of La Costa from a standard condominium community to exclusively a single-house community,” Avis said. “I think Fieldstone plans to carry out their development plans accordingly.”
Hansen said the firm expects to build about 3,500 detached, single-family houses.
Fieldstone, which last year was ranked as Southern California’s 12th-largest residential developer in house sales, plans to begin construction on the Carlsbad property in 1990. The firm recorded more than $200 million in house sales last year.
The La Costa site became available earlier this summer when BCED altered its corporate strategy, moving from residential property to primarily commercial and industrial development.
