Baldwin Co. Buys Otay Ranch for $150 Million

In one of the largest recent real estate transactions in California, the Baldwin Co. has paid $150 million for the 19,600-acre Otay Ranch in southern San Diego County. The seller was United Enterprises Inc.

James Baldwin, co-owner of the privately held Irvine-based building firm, said that “plans for a major new town are expected to move forward” on the site, east of Interstate 805, south of California 94 and north of the rapidly developing Otay Mesa area on the U.S-Mexico border.

Consisting of seven parcels ranging from 10 acres to 9,138 acres, the property includes vestiges of two ranchos, Otay and Janal, granted to the Estudillo family in 1829 and retained by that family when California became part of the United States.