March 28, 2024

HomeFed CEO says he will continue with plans to build more than 1,400 homes on the 2,600-acre site

By Tom York santee.patch.com

Carlsbad-based residential developer HomeFed Corp. said in a federal regulatory filing Jan. 27 that it had acquired the controversial 2,600-acreFanita Ranch project here in Santee.

In the filing with the SEC, the publicly traded HomeFed said it obtained title to the property in a foreclosure auction held on the steps of the county courthouse in downtown San Diego. The residential developer paid $11 million in the auction.

HomeFed said it has “acquired the property with the intention of modifying and completing the necessary entitlements to develop the property as a master-planned community, although there can be no assurance that the company will be successful in these efforts.”

“If successful, obtaining all the entitlements is expected to take several years,” the filing said.

Paul Borden, HomeFed’s CEO, emphasized that the master developer planned to continue the project in a telephone call to Patch.com: “We are a real estate developer, not a home builder, and we bought the property for development.”

He said his company has demonstrated that it can develop a large residential project in its San Elijo Hills project in San Marcos, and the firm remains sensitive to such issues as the environment and wildlife, not to mention density. READ MORE VIA THE SANTEE PATCH