CARLSBAD, CA—One of the reasons Carlsbad has been able tomaintain open space is that its 25-year overall plan is designed tokeep houses from being built on top of each other, PresidioResidential Capital's co-principal DonFaye tells GlobeSt.com. Presidio and CornerstoneCommunities have broken ground on the Reserve, a 635-unit community on 156acres—more than half of them designated as open space—that is beingbuilt on a former rock quarry in northeast Carlsbad. The retailvalue of the project, which will offer 293 single-family detachedluxury townhomes and 342 luxury apartments when it opens in 2016,will exceed $200 million. We spoke exclusively with Faye about theproject and why open space seems to be a key phrase when discussingCarlsbad development, as well as other trends he is noticing in theresidential-development arena.

GlobeSt.com: Open space seems to be a key factor inCarlsbad development. Why is this the case, and how are developersapproaching the need for open space here?

Faye: Every new project that's beingbuilt anywhere is required to have a certain amount of open space.You don't want a community that is really impacted by highdensity—you want open corridors and open spaces and walking trails.In this particular project, the Reserve, there's a stream runningthrough it and open space that won't be developed at all. Inaddition, there will be parks and walking trails and a recreationalfacility to serve the community. Almost every project, unless it'sa downtown high-rise, has open space built into it—it's not uniqueto Carlsbad. Carlsbad has been a very progressive city for a numberof years; it has spent 25 years in overall planning for additionalhousing, and it's done a very good job ofproviding a nice blend of retail services, openspace, walking trails and housing so that it's not a mass when yougo there. Flying over L.A., all you can see is street after street,house after house; there's very little open space. Carlsbad hasdone a great job with open space. It also has a lot of topographythat lends itself to open space so you don't have houses on top ofeach other.