AUGUST 6, 2012
SAN DIEGO COUNTY'S AWARD-WINNING BUSINESS WEEKLY
WWW.SDBJ.COM
Escondido Is Still in the Development Game to Win
ECONOMY: Baseball
Is Out, so City Turns Its
Attention to Other Prospects
As far as visitor destination
draws, Escondido has
two of the biggest ones in
North County: San Diego
Zoo Safari Park; and Stone
Brewery. The former gets
about 2 million visitors
annually, while the latter is
in the midst of an aggressive
expansion.
n By mike allen
Despite a clunker of a deal with the
San Diego Padres for a minor league
ballpark, things are decidedly upbeat in
Escondido, says Mayor Sam Abed.
Abed says a deal with the Padres to
finance part of a new minor league ballpark in its downtown was killed when the
state did away with all city redevelopment
agencies, but that doesn’t mean the city
isn’t pursuing other economic projects.
He rattled off three key projects that
will have enormous impact as they play
out in the coming months: the renovation
of Westfield North County; the opening
of Palomar Medical Center; and the
expansion of Stone Brewing Co.
At the top of the list is the planned upgrade of Westfield’s regional center just
off Interstate 15. The $55 million project
includes a new Target store, several new
restaurants, and the center will be a technological marvel that should draw many
new visitors, Abed said.
When completed in December, the
mall will support about 550 permanent
service and retail jobs, according to the
city.
As far as visitor destination draws,
Escondido has two of the biggest ones
in North County: San Diego Zoo Safari
Park; and Stone Brewery. The former
gets about 2 million visitors annually,
while the latter is in the midst of an aggressive expansion.
New Hospital Creates Jobs
This week, Stone broke ground on a
60,000-square-foot bottling and equipment facility next to its new brewery and
restaurant. Down the road, Stone plans
to build a 50-room boutique hotel.
Another key economic driver project
is the $1 billion Palomar West hospital
that opens this month. The 11-story,
740,000-square-foot complex has about
300 beds initially with the capacity to
Photo courtesy of Palomar Health
The $1 billion Palomar Medical Center that opens this month will employ some 2,000 people
and is a key driver of economic development in the Escondido region.
expand to 360 beds. It will also employ
some 2,000 people.
Like many other cities that have seen
their urban cores deteriorate, Escondido
is trying to attract people into its downtown. It recently completed a higher-end,
174-unit complex called Latitude 33, and
is near completing another project called
Maple Street Pedestrian Plaza intended
to attract people and commerce into the
area. The street that crosses Grand Avenue could be closed to traffic at certain
times, allowing people to take priority
over cars.
“The plaza is aimed at attracting more
special events downtown and to create a
nice public space where people can converge and walk,” said Michelle Geller, an
Escondido management analyst.
Already drawing nice crowds are a
couple of busy car dealerships that
opened up in the last few years. A CarMax dealership is doing nice business in
its first year, Abed said, but even more
impressive is a Lexus dealership off the
I-15.
Called the Centre, the three-story,
300,000-square-foot building is much
more than a car dealer. It also offers indoor and outdoor meeting space aimed
at smaller concerts, weddings, and private
parties and an upscale eatery run by the
Cohn Restaurant Group called Vintana.
At some point, the building will also offer
retail shopping.
Plans for 100-Acre Park
Abed said a project still on the drawing
board but obviously not as certain due
to the absence of redevelopment dollars
is a 100-acre downtown business park
that would go into the same area tabbed
for the Padres ballpark. The site near the
confluence of I-15 and state Route 78 is a
great location near the Sprinter (light rail)
station and could be an excellent spot for
clean-tech industrial, light manufacturing
such as medical devices, he said.
The area consists of half publicly
owned property and half privately held
land, and would require a $1.3 billion
investment to build, Abed said.
The type of industries that the city
hopes to attract to the business park
would create high-paying jobs. Escondido’s park would not compete with similar
industrial areas in nearby North County
cities, Abed said. The cities generally
work together to see ways that they can
best leverage each other’s advantages,
he said.
Finally, Abed noted Escondido is embarking on a campaign to draw tourists
into the area through its burgeoning wine
industry. “We’re looking to create the
same kind of success that Stone Brewery
has with beer lovers and create a wine
destination here,” he said. “We have 13
wineries in and around Escondido.”
Rendering courtesy of Stone Brewing Co.
Stone Brewing broke ground on a 60,000-square-foot bottling and equipment facility next to its new brewery and restaurant. Plans are under way to build a 50-room boutique hotel nearby.
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