If you've been surfing the north county coast the past few years, then you've definitely seen or heard about the changes going on in south Carlsbad and Leucadia. The area's been sleepy since the area was a train stop back in the 1800's. But there are a changes comin'. Currently there are 3 hotels and mixed use area in the works for Ponto with the first hotel, the Hilton, being slated for completion summer 2012. The San Diego Union Tribune shed some light on the progress of the Hilton this past weekend:
The resort, across from the beach at Ponto Road and Carlsbad Boulevard, is at odds with trends in the region, where many hotels are changing hands or are being foreclosed upon. Wavecrest Hotels and Resorts — which also owns the Hilton Garden Inn near the beach south of Palomar Airport Road in Carlsbad — is having the new Hilton built. Noticing droves of hotels but a general lack of resort-quality inns near the ocean, Wavecrest began buying land in 2001 for the project and by 2006 had acquired five properties totaling eight acres. Plans call for 215 rooms, a pool area that faces the ocean, a seven-room spa, large indoor and outdoor meeting spaces including a wedding venue, and a restaurant. Wavecrest hopes to build the resort for less than $55 million. When finished, the resort will staff more than 200 employees. Consulting and construction will provide work for about 250 people, the company estimated. Builders broke ground in January and hope to complete the project by June 2012, but say they are ahead of schedule and it could open sooner. The project, which secured financing in January, is hailed by the building and hospitality fields as somewhat of an anomaly, rising from the ashes of a recession that devastated the construction and lending industries. “It was tough for everybody in the country, but for us on this project, we own the property free and clear, and we were just methodically going about our business getting the approvals, getting the plans,” Wavecrest President Bill Canepa said. “It didn’t cause us to slow down or make any changes.” Canepa, who was named Businessperson of the Year in March by the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce, said the land was collectively valued at $20 million, and it acquired it for about half that. Occupancy at Hilton Garden Inn stayed above 80 percent even during the worst of times, he said, and is typically much higher. That success has made his company confident that a luxury resort under the Hilton banner will succeed in North County. The number of visitors to San Diego County was projected to be up 3 percent over last year in the first quarter based on figures from January and February, and tourism spending was up 7 percent, according to the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau. In Carlsbad, hotel occupancy rates were about half full at 54.3 percent in the first quarter of this year, down 7.5 percent compared to the same months last year, according to data provided by destination marketing organization Visit Carlsbad. The county as a whole was up 4.5 percent at 65 percent occupancy. Some other California destinations did a little better in the first quarter. Santa Barbara was at 60 percent, up 9 percent; Newport Beach and Dana Point were at 65.2 percent, up 9.9 percent; and Anaheim was at 68.1 percent, up 7.8 percent. The region’s performance was likely due to bad winter weather, said Visit Carlsbad Executive Director Sam Ross. Occupancy in the county was trending upward, though, and was at 70.2 percent in March alone. Carlsbad’s relatively poor performance compared to the region may have to do with La Costa Resort and Spa closing 240 rooms for renovations, Ross said. He said the new Hilton resort will provide some much-needed revitalization in southern Carlsbad. “It will be good for North County. It will give travelers another option for (staying) on the beach,” Ross said. “It is amazing that a hotel is being built after the recession we’ve been going through and kind of are still in.” South Carlsbad, which city officials say is blighted by the Encina Power Station’s 400-foot-tall smokestacks, is a focus for city redevelopment. It has three planning subdivisions, one of which is Ponto. The city’s plans for the coastal land include three hotels, condominiums, time shares and shopping areas. The Carlsbad Hilton Oceanfront Resort & Spa marks the first of those plans to come near fruition. Housing and Community Services Director Debbie Fountain hopes the resort will encourage other developers to build there. “The economy definitely has a major impact on any of those kinds of projects moving forward,” Fountain said. “Obviously it’s a big boost to the economy in Carlsbad to think about having a new 215-room resort and spa, and to have it happening in the redevelopment area sends a message that this a good area to develop in.”
On the Leucadia side of highway 101, The Leucadia Mainstreet Association has been busy at work trying to breathe life into the local businesses. As one of the City Council’s high priority projects, in early 2008 the City initiated a streetscape project to enhance the North Coast Highway 101 corridor. Community input has been utilized to create a concept plan for beautification, landscape, pedestrian, circulation, traffic management, and parking improvements for an approximately 2.5-mile stretch of North Coast Highway 101 (A Street to La Costa Avenue). If it's anything like the revitalization of downtown Encinitas, they're on the right track as this redevelopment helped the city get through the recession virtually unscathed. It was one of the few towns in America the past few years where businesses were being built instead of boarded up. The diagram above is a quick look at just the area between La Costa Avenue and the famous Log Cabin apartments. You'll notice new benches, trees, walking trails, roundabouts, etc. Below is a brief description of some of the features they'll be adding.
RECOMMENDED PHASING IMPROVEMENT | DESCRIPTION |
A Street to North Court | Implement/construct all the improvements associated with the approved concept plan/Alternative 4A from A Street to North Court. |
La Costa Roundabout | Construct the roundabout at La Costa Avenue. |
Hawk Pedestrian Crossings | Install the infrastructure to accommodate the future Hawk Pedestrian Crossing signals concurrent with construction of any other improvements. |
Road Diet Striping | Stripe the Northbound Traffic lanes with a Road Diet – extending from North Court to Bishop’s Gate (Sea Bluff entrance). |
Tree Plantings | Provide 101 tree plantings and irrigation systems where possible without conflicting with future phases of work. |
Grandview Avenue Roundabout | Initiate discussions with NCTD to obtain authorization for encroachment into NCTD right-of-way. |
Whether or not you agree with the changes, the bottom line is that it will probably stimulate the local economy. And unfortunately Leucadia needs some help as the NCTD keeps cutting down the 'diseased' trees along the railroad tracks and there is a lack of foot traffic in the area which hurts local businesses. For Ponto, they already ripped out the plants and trees years ago, graded the land, and put up chain link fences so something needed to be done. Whether they overdevelop is another question. Just please don't put make it another Newport and put in a a marina and harbor at Batiquitos Lagoon!
