McMillin Breaks Ground on a Massive Master Planned Community

CHULA VISTA, CA-McMillin Communities is launch today what it has dubbed its “most ambitious project ever.” Millenia is the name it has given to an urban center. That will feature 3,000 unites of miltifmaily residences and 3.5 million square feet of mixed-use commercial real estate.

The on-site groundbreaking for the 210-acre community was expected to attract hundreds of business leaders and elected officials.
McMillin has built more than 30,000 residences, and 16 master-planned communities.
Millenia, which will be equivalent to about 80 city blocks, is fully entitled with plans for 2 million square feet of class A office space on 30 acres, 1.5 million square feet of retail, hospitality, civic and mixed-use projects, six themed urban parks and a variety of tree-lined promenades, casual gathering places, bikeways, and plazas.

Population will be approximately 8,500 when complete in about 20 years.  It has been designated a Smart Growth Urban Center by the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG).
“We envision Millenia becoming the future City Center of South County and the epicenter of the emerging San Diego/Tijuana mega region,” said Scott McMillin, chairman of The Corky McMillin Companies.  “It is ideally located near the U.S. Olympic Training Center, only four miles from the Otay Mesa Port of Entry and the planned cross-border terminal, and just 20 miles from Downtown San Diego and Lindberg Field,” he said.
“This project will play a key role for Chula Vista's future University Innovation District that will be developed adjacent to Millenia,” said Chula Vista mayor Cheryl Cox.  “Combined, Millenia and the University Innovation District will become a strong economic engine, offering higher education, high paying jobs and quality housing for Chula Vistans and residents throughout the South Bay,” she added.
“The design of Millenia represents the culmination of what we've learned as a company for over half a century,” said Mark McMillin, company president and CEO, noting that planning for Millenia, which is the urban center of the 22,899-acre Otay Ranch Master Plan, has spanned about 15 years.
The Millenia planning team, which was headed up by McMillin's Todd Galarneau, senior vice president of Land Development, included RTKL, a global architecture and design practice headquartered in Baltimore, Md., Cinti Land Planning, now of Rosarito, Mexico, Project Design Consultants (PDC) of San Diego for civil engineering, and Wallace, Roberts & Todd, for park design.  Stratford Land of Dallas, Texas, is a financial partner.

The developers have ambitious plans for water conservation, air quality and energy conservation, according to Galarneau. Millenia played an integral role as part of an energy modeling initiative conducted by the National Energy Center for Sustainable Communities and the City of Chula Vista, among others.  This effort identified energy conserving technologies that can be integrated into the infrastructure and buildings of Millenia. The National Center for Sustainable Communities concluded that the design of Millenia will result in residents traveling 5.5 million fewer miles per year.
Millenia was one of 236 projects in eight countries participating in the pilot program for the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) program.  It is also one of only 60 projects (and the only one south of Los Angeles) included in the select LEED-ND focus group.

The Corky McMillin Companies started in 1960 as a remodeling and custom-home builder in South San Diego County.  Over more than 50 years, the company has grown into a fully integrated real estate investment, land development and home-building company.  The Corky McMillin Companies is led by Scott McMillin, chairman of the board, and Mark McMillin, president and CEO.