Rare San Diego Land Site Picked Up By Home Builder

Lennar Corp. has acquired a massive and rare 41.5-acre development site in San Diego with plans to build a 601-home community. Like other markets in Southern California, San Diego has a housing shortage. This new home community, which is set to deliver next year, aims to address the need for more housing supply with a broad mix of home styles, including 99 single-family homes, 105 triplex homes, 120 townhomes and 277 apartments.

“Demand for housing in general in San Diego continues to outstrip supply annually,” Kevin Nolen, a director at Cushman & Wakefield, tells GlobeSt.com. “Single-family housing demand in the entry-level category continues to be one of the places that continues to shine, despite some overall sluggishness in housing demand due to an increase in interest rates. The area the project is being developed is known for larger single family homes, so the entry level housing being built will be welcome for buyers looking to be in the area but have previously been priced out.”

Lennar purchased the property from Atlantic Pacific Cos. for an undisclosed price, and Nolen represented Lennar in the transaction, along with his Cushman & Wakefield colleagues Tim Winslow and Jason Kimmel. “This redevelopment site was underutilized and had the proper zoning in place to allow for a development of this nature.  The owner was a long-term holder and apartment owner,” says Nolen. “We presented to them a scenario in which they could remain an apartment owner on the site by selling off a section of the property to a for-sale developer.  The for-sale developer, Lennar, would run the project through entitlements and deliver the original owner a pad to which they could build back new apartments to rent.  It was a win-win for both the buyer and the seller.”