SAN MARCOS — San Marcos city and school district leaders gave residents an overview of completed projects and ongoing efforts on May 24 during the annual State of the Community event.
Mayor Rebecca Jones and Superintendent Andy Johnsen took the stage at the Civic Center, speaking about the last year’s accomplishments and what’s in the works for the coming months.
Jones highlighted the city’s 60 years of history and the ongoing advancement of projects like the North City downtown area, the development of Kaiser Permanente’s San Marcos Medical Center set to open in August and the nearly-completed San Marcos Creek project.
Jones reminisced on the city’s genesis in 1963, when it had one stoplight, one grocery store and a population of around 1,200. Now, with a population of nearly 100,000, several K-12 and higher education institutions and increased urban development, she said the city is continuing to reach its full potential.
“San Marcos is descending into a new era of its history, but we would be nothing without our past,” Jones said. “I have had the privilege and honor of watching our city come into its own and really come into what it was meant to be. I, for one, am excited to continue the grand journey we have ahead.”
The North City development near Cal State San Marcos is around 15% complete as of this year, with the opening of market-rate multifamily housing, student housing projects like North Commons that opened in September, the Mesa Rim Climbing Gym, Draft Republic Brewery, and medical and office spaces.
Project developer Sea Breeze Properties also broke ground this year on a 12-story building with over 450 market-rate residential units and 20,000 feet of ground-floor retail space along North City Drive, set to open in 2025.
“It is truly the best of urban living reimagined,” Jones said of North City.
The city opened two new parks earlier this year — Las Abejas Park on Woodhaven Road and South Lake Park at the retired South Lake Reservoir. In addition, the opening of Paseo de Arroyo Park, which will be accessible at Via Vera Cruz and Bent Avenue and feature walking trails in conjunction with the completion of the San Marcos Creek project later this year, will bring the city to a total of 41 full-sized and mini-parks.
Jones also touched briefly on the controversial mixed-use project proposed last year at the historic Restaurant Row site, where the land’s new owner plans to create a new community park, around 200 residential units from Lennar Homes and 10,000 square feet of new commercial space.
The project will bring the city back to the “roots of community living,” according to Jones, who added that Fish House Vera Cruz would remain open at the site where several other businesses have since departed.
“With these new improvements, people will see what they have always known — [that] San Marcos is a destination,” Jones said.
In the public safety sphere, Jones highlighted the arrival of the San Marcos Sheriff’s Station’s new captain Kevin Ralph, who took the helm in April.
The San Marcos Unified School District completed major projects this last year, like the new Richland Elementary School opening in January and new playground equipment at Joli Ann Leichtag Elementary. In addition, two new kindergarten buildings are also in the works at Double Peak School.
Johnsen said the district continues to prioritize elevating student voices and allowing them to shape the district’s direction going forward.
“We constantly listen to our kids. Every time I get to interact with our students, I’m more excited for our future, I have more hope for our future,” he said.
Johnsen highlighted the launch of the district’s mental health program, a significant partnership with the city that includes $1.25 million in funding. The three-tier program consists of the on-campus campaign Let’s Face It Together, a crisis text line, access to the mental health resource navigation tool Care Solace, increased counselors, and forming three wellness units.
The district is also in the process of opening its new agriculture farm on Cassou Road. The two new livestock barns and renovated poultry barn holding cows, pigs, chickens, ducks, sheep, goats, turkeys, and llamas will offer unique opportunities for students in the veterinarian and agriculture programs.
Other impressive programs in the district include the construction pathway, where students have built tiny homes for participants in the Wounded Warrior Project, and the education pathway, where the district’s high schoolers have been able to help out elementary schoolers in the classroom.
“What these “students are doing is way beyond what we all were doing. It’s very, It’s exciting,” said Johnsen.
Another highlight of the past year was the district filing its first positive budget certification in two years, following years of financial tumult during the COVID-19 pandemic and declining enrollment.
