ESCONDIDO — The North County Transit District board gave the greenlight to partner with two agencies to redevelop the Escondido Transit Center.
The board’s Oct. 19 vote in favor of entering into an exclusive negotiating agreement (ENA) with Toll Brothers Apartment Living and Waterford Property Company is the first step toward transforming the 12.69-acre existing transit center “into a vibrant community gathering space where residents and visitors can live, work, play and ride,” according to staff.
NCTD staff advertised a request for proposals from October 2022 through May 2023 seeking a developer to take on the proposed mixed-use development project. Redevelopment will include maximizing underutilized land around the transit center, increasing ridership and regional connectivity, enhancing the overall transit experience and supporting sustainability goals.
“Redeveloping the Escondido Transit Center will improve the rider experience, bring new amenities and generate transit ridership by activating the site and connecting it to needed housing and retail space,” said NCTD Chief Development Officer Tracey Foster. “We are confident that Toll Brothers and Waterford have the requisite experience and knowledge of the Escondido community to make the project successful.”
The ENA agreement will allow all three parties to work together through the next steps in the planning process, which will include project design and community engagement.
Toll Brothers and Waterford are required to work within the city of Escondido’s entitlement process.
On its website, Toll Brothers refers to itself as “the nation’s leading builder of luxury homes.”
“Toll Brothers is excited to be a part of the process of reimagining and revitalizing the Escondido Transit Center,” said Michael McCann, regional director of Toll Brothers Apartment Living. “We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the North County Transit District and to working closely with residents, city leaders, and the team at Waterford Property Company on this important redevelopment opportunity.”
Waterford, a real estate investment and development company, considers itself an “expert in essential and affordable housing.”
“The Escondido Transit Center is an opportunity to be a catalyst project for Downtown Escondido – a community we’re especially proud to be part of,” said Sean Rawson, co-founder of Waterford. “This collaborative effort with NCTD, the city of Escondido and Toll Brothers is sure to result in a project that achieves NCTD goals, creates market rate and affordable housing and provides public gathering spaces and placemaking elements that reinforce Escondido as a great place to live, work and visit.”
According to NCTD, benefits from the redevelopment project include the generation of revenue through a long-term ground lease.
“Toll Brothers and Waterford are undertaking the Escondido Transit Center development without cost to NCTD,” said Colleen Windsor, director of marketing and communications for NCTD. “Their proposal includes annual ground lease payments to NCTD and approximately $16 million in improvements to the transit station.”
The redevelopment will also improve ridership numbers, create jobs, develop housing with a range of affordability levels and reduce local reliance on vehicles, staff noted.
NCTD envisions the transit center will serve as a mobility hub connecting existing trails with multi-modal access points that extend into the historic downtown Escondido area.
“NCTD’s redevelopment plans address the region’s growing need to promote the use of a sustainable, efficient and accessible transportation network while providing a sense of a thriving community at this transit center for decades to come,” Foster said.
Escondido Transit Center is one of 11 sites being advanced for redevelopment by NCTD, all of which are in various stages of redevelopment. The other projects include Carlsbad Village and Poinsettia Transit Stations, seven Sprinter stations and the Oceanside Transit Center.
In 2020, NCTD also hired Toll Brothers Apartment Living through a separate ENA to develop a mixed-use project on-site with up to 547 apartments, 165 luxury hotel rooms, office space, retail stores and three parking garages for 1,800 parking spaces. The regional agency also plans to relocate its current headquarters to the transit center and replace the 810 Mission Avenue space with 206 mixed-income apartments, including 15% designated for low-income households.
Other proposed features included relocating the Breeze bus loop turnaround closer to the Sprinter and Coaster platforms, transit specific parking, amenities including shade structures, water fountains and a new customer service center, and other ground floor activation.
Next steps for the Escondido Transit Center include negotiating the ENA, while the Oceanside Transit Center is preparing to release its draft environmental impact report for public input.
For now, completion dates for either transit centers have yet to be determined.
“The timing of the projects is dependent upon a number of variables including the entitlement process, city review timeframes, the regulatory environment, etc.,” Windsor said via email. “Until both projects are fully entitled, schedules regarding construction start and finish timeframes will continue to evolve.”
