Vista Will Buy Historic Rancho for $2.1 Million

Vista’s historic Rancho Buena Vista, born of a Spanish land grant in the 1800s and the site of a 144-year-old adobe home occupied to this day, is being purchased by the city for $2.1 million so it can be preserved as a cultural keepsake.

The city of Vista has long coveted the hacienda because of its historic significance and its status as a symbol of the region’s heritage, but previous attempts to acquire it for public ownership had failed.

However, the Vista City Council announced Tuesday that it will loan the city’s redevelopment agency the money to buy the estate.

“People may wonder why we’d want to buy it and not use the money to fill potholes,” conceded City Manager Morris Vance. “But this is an opportunity we couldn’t pass up, and it’s an opportunity that won’t last very long. The city has made a bold decision to move on the chance while we had it.”

In 1968, voters rejected a proposal to buy the estate for $100,000.

$2.4-Million Appraised Value

More recently, the state Department of Parks and Recreation, acting on legislation by State Sen. Bill Craven (R-Carlsbad), tried to buy the property, but the effort collapsed when the state’s Department of General Services recommended spending no more than $1.1 million for the property, even though $1.75 million had been set aside by the Legislature for its purchase.

The most recent appraisal of the property, completed about five months ago, put the value of the hacienda at $2.4 million. The city and the estate’s current owners and occupants, Rudd and Sally Schoeffel, negotiated the purchase price at $2.1 million. Escrow will close Aug. 15.

“We don’t want to look back in another 15 or 20 years and ask ourselves why we didn’t buy it when we had the chance to, for $2 million,” Vance said.

The hacienda, spread over 1.9 acres, is on Alta Vista Way near Escondido Avenue, a major thoroughfare about two blocks from Vista City Hall. The property, surrounded by a brick and ivy wall, features four separate structures: the original, 144-year-old adobe home which has been expanded over the years and now totals 4,200 square feet; a 1,300-square-foot servants’ quarters; a 1,800-square-foot guest house built about nine years ago and a garage.

The grounds are landscaped and include a citrus grove and swimming pool.

“I don’t know of another estate like this in the county,” Vance said, “and it’s the best-preserved rancho I’ve ever seen in terms of old California history. Even though it has been modified somewhat over the years, it’s still as you’d imagine an old Spanish rancho to look like. It’s absolutely gorgeous.”

Once the purchase is completed, Vance said, a citizens committee will be established to determine how the rancho should be utilized under public ownership.

“We may use it for tours, for seminars, or as a public meeting place,” Vance said. “We may even rent it out for things like wedding receptions.”