http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2015/oct/03/san-elijo-hills-towncenter-development-talks/

SAN MARCOS — For more than a decade, as rooftops went up around them, three high-profile lots in the commercial heart of the master-planned San Elijo Hills community have been vacant — and residents of the affluent south San Marcos neighborhood have waited for a change.

Now, there is at least a sign that the dirt could give way to development.

Late last month, the San Elijo Hills Development Co. — a subsidiary of developer HomeFed Corp. — posted an online announcement stating it was “thrilled to share that we are working with an experienced and proven retail developer toward an agreement to build the second phase of the Towncenter.”

“We realize residents of San Elijo Hills have been waiting a long time… and we are excited to tell you about this progress,” said the announcement, on sanelijohills.com.

The statement offered no details, but said updates would follow “in the next month or two.”

HomeFed President and Chief Executive Officer Paul Borden declined to comment this week on what might be happening with the 5-acre site, citing ongoing negotiations.

In February, however, Borden addressed the San Marcos City Council about the struggle to develop the property.

“We are very proud of the San Elijo Hills development and want nothing more than to see that the heart of the community is finished in a way that will make the residents happy,” Borden told the council.

He said that, since 2008, his company had engaged five architects and evaluated numerous concepts for the lots, including a retail-only proposal and a mix of retail and residential. Two big problems, he said, were the recession and the difficulties facing brick-and-mortar retail stores.

The San Elijo Hills master plan calls for roughly 3,400 units of housing, from condos along the main road to gated neighborhoods of single-family homes. About 85 percent of the community is built out; roughly 500 housing units remain undeveloped.

The Towncenter’s first phase — which included a grocery store, bank and gas station — was built in the mid- to late-2000s. There is also a strip of businesses — from a yoga studio to a coffee shop and nail salon — underneath condos along the main road.

Since then the remaining lots have sat vacant — to the consternation of many community residents.

A Facebook posting about the developer’s recent announcement drew mixed responses, from optimism to derision.

Some commenters were thrilled, with requests for specific stores. But others decried the developer for having left the “eyesore” vacant for far too long, even as the community had grown.

One resident of 14 years called it “comical that we are supposed to be excited at the possibility” that something could be in the works.

In his February remarks to the council, the HomeFed president acknowledged the festering frustration of residents and called the vacant lots the project’s “Achilles heel.”

“I wish I had an easy answer,” Borden said. “We really want this to be done with the quality that we expect and the residents expect.”

On Friday, some people shopping in the developed portion of Towncenter were philosophical about the vacant space.

“It’s been a long time, but there was a recession. That’s the way it goes,” said Blair Mettee, who moved into the community eight years ago. “We have to be somewhat realistic about it… They will build it when they build it.”

San Marcos Councilman Chris Orlando, himself a San Elijo Hills resident, said last week that he understands the community’s frustration, and called the announcement of negotiations “progress” and “a positive thing.”

“I view what they have put out as a step in the right direction,” Orlando said, citing the talks themselves and the decision by the developer to share news with a community eager for information.

Developed or not, a few acres of vacant lots in the heart of the community does not diminish resident Angela Birdsall’s devotion to San Elijo Hills.

“I love this community,” she said Friday as she stood across the street from one of the vacant lots after her yoga class. “I absolutely love it.”