ESCONDIDO — Seventy townhomes are set to replace a vacant former office building at the corner of Quince Street and West Valley Parkway.
The City Council unanimously approved the project at 613 W. Valley Parkway, proposed by developer KB Homes, by a 4-0 vote on Dec. 10. Mayor Dane White was absent from the meeting.
The project will merge two lots into one on a 2.73-acre site next to the Escondido Transit Center.
The site is included in the city’s suitable sites inventory, meaning the property could accommodate up to 167 units — 107 low-income and 60 above moderate. However, the developer opted to build only 70 for-sale townhomes.
The Planning Commission also unanimously recommended approval of the project in October.
KB Homes plans to include 158 off-street parking spaces in garages, each with 80 cubic feet of storage. Access to the project will be provided from West Valley and Grand Avenue, but not from Quince Street.
The project will provide 23,176 square feet of open space, including an interior common area, passive open space along West Grand, and more than 100 trees. Each home will have ground-floor access.
The homes will feature early California-style architecture and will stand 36 feet tall. Each home will include all-electric appliances, as required by the city’s Climate Action Plan.
Of the homes, 10 will feature two bedrooms and two bathrooms; another 10 will have two bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms; 24 will have three bedrooms; and 26 will have four bedrooms. All of the homes will be for sale.
According to the developer, although prices have not yet been released, the homes’ density reduces total square footage, making the project one of the city’s more affordable for-sale developments. The homes are intended to appeal to both first-time homebuyers and those seeking long-term residences.
The council was generally pleased with the overall project.
“This is the type of housing we have really advocated for multiple times,” said Councilmember Christian Garcia. “It targets middle-income… I think this is a really good job.”
Councilmember Judy Fitzgerald agreed.
“We have been looking out for that attainable housing for purchase for people to launch from low-income to middle-income that could be a forever home,” Fitzgerald said. “This is a very well thought out project.”
While the council expressed support for the density, some residents raised concerns that the project underutilized the site’s maximum allowable capacity.
Laura Hunter compared the proposal to the “grossly under-densified” Marlowe Palomar Heights project, which replaced the former Palomar Hospital site.
“We need to start densifying our urban cores, especially near our transit corridors,” Hunter said. “If this is not maxed out to the amount of density that is allowed — I would say promised in the plan — then it’s not acceptable. We have a shortage of housing — we need it at costs people can afford in locations where they can be close to services and close to mass transit.”
The project will be one of several new KB Homes developments in Escondido. The developer is also behind Dixon Trail, the nation’s first wildfire-resistant community, which includes 64 single-family detached homes priced at more than $1 million, and, most recently, Rosegate, a townhome project offering up to four-bedroom options, with homes priced in the $690,000 range.
