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Planned Escondido Project Could Boost Employment Opportunity

A Hacienda Heights developer has submitted plans for a project off Interstate 15 in Escondido, which officials say could help boost the city’s stock of hotel rooms while setting the stage for more job-creating businesses in the southern area of the city.

The city is reviewing the proposal by Felicita Development LLC, calling for a 140-room hotel, an additional 80-room hotel geared to extended stays, a 120- bed assisted living facility, and a gas station with a convenience store.

The project is planned for a 6.9-acre property at the southeast corner of Felicita Road and Gamble Lane, near West Citracado Parkway on the western side of I-15. Developers could not be reached for comment at press time.

City officials emphasized that the review process is in very early stages. Barbara Redlitz, director of community development, said the project site is not far from a complex on West Citracado where Rady Children’s Hospital and other providers operate clinics and related medical offices.

There are other existing long-term care facilities not far from the site, including the recently completed Monticello Assisted Living.

Earning Power

Redlitz said the development site is part of a larger area that city voters decided to rezone a few years ago, taking it from strictly residential uses to allow certain types of commercial projects. Among the city’s aims for the 87-acre Felicita corporate office target zone, in the Felicita Road interchange area off I-15, is increasing employment at local businesses with salaries that raise median income.

“The idea is to encourage more businesses that create jobs and serve the local community, as opposed to just serving the traffic passing through on I-15 with things like fast-food restaurants,” Redlitz said.

The project could also help boost the city’s stock of local hotels, as it looks to capture more business from tourists visiting local craft breweries and attractions such as San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Many of the current hospitality properties in the southern part of Escondido are motels and other small establishments.

“The city has been very interested in attracting hotels to Escondido, as we do not have any three-star or higher hotels,” said Joyce Masterson, the city’s director of economic development and community relations.

Branding and other details for the proposed four-story hotels have not been announced, and officials said the height of the finished properties will need to be worked out through the review process, among other issues.

The hotel project is among several highway-adjacent developments now being reviewed within and near Escondido.

Gated Community

To the south of the hotel project site, the city earlier this year approved plans for Oak Creek, a 65-home gated housing community planned by developer New Urban West, for a site north of Felicita County Park. The city has agreed to annex the 37-acre project site.

Also, the county of San Diego is reviewing developments proposed for what is known as the Valiano specific plan in Eden Valley, on unincorporated land near Highway 78 and I-15. Current plans call for 326 homes on 238 acres located between San Marcos and Escondido, according to a county staff report.

The Valiano plan calls for five single-family residential neighborhoods with varying densities, along with park and recreation amenities.

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