I just spoke with the leasing agent for the new La Costa Town Center under construction at the intersection of La Costa Avenue and Rancho Santa Fe Road.
No, there won’t be a theater because of traffic concerns, but there will be a new and very upscale concept-level Vons Lifestyle Grocery (slated for 2014 opening), as well as a large fitness center and two banks. But with 270,000 square feet of planned and single level space for lease, there should be at least a restaurant or two, an obligatory Starbucks or Peets and various other services, boutiques and shops. And of course, the planned pedestrian plaza will be perfect for an easy stroll and possible window shopping.
Many in the La Costa neighborhoods fought the very idea of a shopping center or complex taking over this large and undeveloped tract of land. In fact, our son used to mountain bike with friends on that terrain earlier in this century. But those days are gone and current discussions have drifted to walkable neighborhoods where shoppers tote their own bags and do shopping in running shoes and Lululemon wardrobes.
The effects of this Town Center on La Costa real estate may not be so bad, after all.
As one who lives and works within a few blocks of the new La Costa Town Center, I look forward to shopping in a Vons that perhaps resembles a Whole Foods Market–and if daily shopping on foot becomes a regular walkable outing, I just might not need the fabulous new fitness center.
We also look forward to the new home development that is reported to be built by Davidson–one of our favorite San Diego builders.
In the meantime and for those who care, I will keep nosing around to see who and what will be occupying the land at the northeastern end of La Costa Avenue. And with the irony that life tends to gift us, we who live on busy streets may find a silver lining in living within a very walkable neighborhood, where we can meet one another over coffee or the vegetable display at the new Von’s Lifestyle Store.
And perhaps we’ll even be able hike home together!