By Linda Lou
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
October 13, 2007
SAN MARCOS – San Elijo Hills started off on paper in 1990 as a development with more than 2,000 residences, a 300-room hotel and an 18-hole golf course. Seven years later, the plan changed. The hotel and golf course were gone, the number of residences increased to approximately 3,400, and a 13-acre commercial area was added along with a second school site. Grading began in 1998, and the first houses were sold in late 2000. A few more revisions were made, including a 2003 decision to mix residences with businesses in the commercial area. Today, most of the houses are occupied. Residents have a park, an elementary school and a middle school. But there is still no place to shop or dine out.
That void has been testing the patience of some homeowners who said they have been waiting too long for the developer, HomeFed Corp., to deliver on its promise of a commercial core in the development. Driving by an empty construction site day after day, residents said, has only fueled their frustration about when or if the center will open. I’m out in the middle of nowhere,” said Michael Pelgrin, who moved into San Elijo Hills almost four years ago. READ ENTIRE UT ARTICLE
