I took a drive around Carlsbad recently and was struck, as I often am, by our city's natural beauty.
But I was struck by something else as well, the large number of construction projects that are in progress in our lovely city. In every corner of Carlsbad, someone was moving dirt, sinking utilities into the ground or putting walls and roofs on new buildings.
The City of Carlsbad is attracting investment dollars, which displays a vote of confidence in Carlsbad's economic future. Investors are saying with their checkbooks that Carlsbad is a good place to do business.
On the retail front, Palomar Commons is taking shape at Palomar Airport Road and El Camino Real. Due to open next summer, this project will be anchored by a 150,000-square-foot Lowe's home improvement store, and will include 31,000 square feet of other retail outlets, including a California Bank & Trust, a Chipotle Mexican Grill, a service station and car wash, and other stores and services.
Palomar Commons will occupy 16 acres formerly taken up by the Olympic Resort, which closed in 2009. Colton Sudberry, president of Sudberry Properties, the developer, said that after the hotel closed and plans for an athletic club did not move forward, his firm studied the site to find its highest and best use.
"It was determined that the best use of the site was for retail," Sudberry said. He also noted that the city of Carlsbad doesn't have a large-scale home improvement store, and that residents were taking that business out of town.
"Lowe's thought it would serve the community and so did we," Sudberry said. He noted that Carlsbad's approval process went smoothly, but it took time to get other approvals because the site is across the street from McClellan-Palomar Airport and needed federal approval.
"The city was great to work with," Sudberry said. "They have tough requirements, but they were very judicious. They were quick in their review times and straightforward. It was a good process."
The project is expected to generate more than $450,000 in tax revenue annually for the city, which will help pay for such everyday services as police and fire protection, libraries and parks.
Another project that we're pleased to see is the new Pizza Port company headquarters and brewpub, which is under construction in Bressi Ranch. Pizza Port already has an award-winning brewpub in Carlsbad Village, and three others in San Diego and Orange counties.
The city also is seeing some residential projects in progress, including the La Costa Village Townhomes, which consists of 53 condominiums at El Camino Real and Dove Lane. This project, near the Carlsbad City Library, was approved in 2006 and addresses a growing demand for condominium housing in the city.
On the tourism front, LEGOLAND California is building a new hotel that will feature 250 LEGO-themed rooms. The park has grown its attendance every year and sees the hotel as a way to improve the LEGOLAND experience for its core customers?families with children ages 2 to 12 years old.
"I'm very glad to say we have been able to continue our volume growth story despite the economy, which has been great not only for our continued expansion plans but for an increase in our employment numbers as well," said Peter Ronchetti, Legoland general manager. The hotel is expected to open next year.
Adjacent to LEGOLAND, Grand Pacific Resorts is building an amenities center that will serve its Hilton Grand Vacations Club at MarBrisa, which will offer 350 timeshares when completed. The center will include two 5,000-square-foot swimming pools, three 200-square-foot spas, a 2,000-square-foot clubhouse, a 2,100-square-foot fitness center, an indoor game room, an outdoor bar and grill and deck that can seat 700 people.
Tim Stripe, co-president of Grand Pacific Resorts said that 80 of the 350 timeshares have been completed.
"What attracts companies to Carlsbad is the fact that it's a well-planned, well-run city," Stripe said. "When our organization looked at where we wanted to do things 20 years ago, we liked the Carlsbad area."
But I was struck by something else as well, the large number of construction projects that are in progress in our lovely city. In every corner of Carlsbad, someone was moving dirt, sinking utilities into the ground or putting walls and roofs on new buildings.
The City of Carlsbad is attracting investment dollars, which displays a vote of confidence in Carlsbad's economic future. Investors are saying with their checkbooks that Carlsbad is a good place to do business.
On the retail front, Palomar Commons is taking shape at Palomar Airport Road and El Camino Real. Due to open next summer, this project will be anchored by a 150,000-square-foot Lowe's home improvement store, and will include 31,000 square feet of other retail outlets, including a California Bank & Trust, a Chipotle Mexican Grill, a service station and car wash, and other stores and services.
Palomar Commons will occupy 16 acres formerly taken up by the Olympic Resort, which closed in 2009. Colton Sudberry, president of Sudberry Properties, the developer, said that after the hotel closed and plans for an athletic club did not move forward, his firm studied the site to find its highest and best use.
"It was determined that the best use of the site was for retail," Sudberry said. He also noted that the city of Carlsbad doesn't have a large-scale home improvement store, and that residents were taking that business out of town.
"Lowe's thought it would serve the community and so did we," Sudberry said. He noted that Carlsbad's approval process went smoothly, but it took time to get other approvals because the site is across the street from McClellan-Palomar Airport and needed federal approval.
"The city was great to work with," Sudberry said. "They have tough requirements, but they were very judicious. They were quick in their review times and straightforward. It was a good process."
The project is expected to generate more than $450,000 in tax revenue annually for the city, which will help pay for such everyday services as police and fire protection, libraries and parks.
Another project that we're pleased to see is the new Pizza Port company headquarters and brewpub, which is under construction in Bressi Ranch. Pizza Port already has an award-winning brewpub in Carlsbad Village, and three others in San Diego and Orange counties.
The city also is seeing some residential projects in progress, including the La Costa Village Townhomes, which consists of 53 condominiums at El Camino Real and Dove Lane. This project, near the Carlsbad City Library, was approved in 2006 and addresses a growing demand for condominium housing in the city.
On the tourism front, LEGOLAND California is building a new hotel that will feature 250 LEGO-themed rooms. The park has grown its attendance every year and sees the hotel as a way to improve the LEGOLAND experience for its core customers?families with children ages 2 to 12 years old.
"I'm very glad to say we have been able to continue our volume growth story despite the economy, which has been great not only for our continued expansion plans but for an increase in our employment numbers as well," said Peter Ronchetti, Legoland general manager. The hotel is expected to open next year.
Adjacent to LEGOLAND, Grand Pacific Resorts is building an amenities center that will serve its Hilton Grand Vacations Club at MarBrisa, which will offer 350 timeshares when completed. The center will include two 5,000-square-foot swimming pools, three 200-square-foot spas, a 2,000-square-foot clubhouse, a 2,100-square-foot fitness center, an indoor game room, an outdoor bar and grill and deck that can seat 700 people.
Tim Stripe, co-president of Grand Pacific Resorts said that 80 of the 350 timeshares have been completed.
"What attracts companies to Carlsbad is the fact that it's a well-planned, well-run city," Stripe said. "When our organization looked at where we wanted to do things 20 years ago, we liked the Carlsbad area."
I took a drive around Carlsbad recently and was struck, as I often am, by our city's natural beauty.
But I was struck by something else as well, the large number of construction projects that are in progress in our lovely city. In every corner of Carlsbad, someone was moving dirt, sinking utilities into the ground or putting walls and roofs on new buildings.
The City of Carlsbad is attracting investment dollars, which displays a vote of confidence in Carlsbad's economic future. Investors are saying with their checkbooks that Carlsbad is a good place to do business.
On the retail front, Palomar Commons is taking shape at Palomar Airport Road and El Camino Real. Due to open next summer, this project will be anchored by a 150,000-square-foot Lowe's home improvement store, and will include 31,000 square feet of other retail outlets, including a California Bank & Trust, a Chipotle Mexican Grill, a service station and car wash, and other stores and services.
Palomar Commons will occupy 16 acres formerly taken up by the Olympic Resort, which closed in 2009. Colton Sudberry, president of Sudberry Properties, the developer, said that after the hotel closed and plans for an athletic club did not move forward, his firm studied the site to find its highest and best use.
"It was determined that the best use of the site was for retail," Sudberry said. He also noted that the city of Carlsbad doesn't have a large-scale home improvement store, and that residents were taking that business out of town.
"Lowe's thought it would serve the community and so did we," Sudberry said. He noted that Carlsbad's approval process went smoothly, but it took time to get other approvals because the site is across the street from McClellan-Palomar Airport and needed federal approval.
"The city was great to work with," Sudberry said. "They have tough requirements, but they were very judicious. They were quick in their review times and straightforward. It was a good process."
The project is expected to generate more than $450,000 in tax revenue annually for the city, which will help pay for such everyday services as police and fire protection, libraries and parks.
Another project that we're pleased to see is the new Pizza Port company headquarters and brewpub, which is under construction in Bressi Ranch. Pizza Port already has an award-winning brewpub in Carlsbad Village, and three others in San Diego and Orange counties.
The city also is seeing some residential projects in progress, including the La Costa Village Townhomes, which consists of 53 condominiums at El Camino Real and Dove Lane. This project, near the Carlsbad City Library, was approved in 2006 and addresses a growing demand for condominium housing in the city.
On the tourism front, LEGOLAND California is building a new hotel that will feature 250 LEGO-themed rooms. The park has grown its attendance every year and sees the hotel as a way to improve the LEGOLAND experience for its core customers?families with children ages 2 to 12 years old.
"I'm very glad to say we have been able to continue our volume growth story despite the economy, which has been great not only for our continued expansion plans but for an increase in our employment numbers as well," said Peter Ronchetti, Legoland general manager. The hotel is expected to open next year.
Adjacent to LEGOLAND, Grand Pacific Resorts is building an amenities center that will serve its Hilton Grand Vacations Club at MarBrisa, which will offer 350 timeshares when completed. The center will include two 5,000-square-foot swimming pools, three 200-square-foot spas, a 2,000-square-foot clubhouse, a 2,100-square-foot fitness center, an indoor game room, an outdoor bar and grill and deck that can seat 700 people.
Tim Stripe, co-president of Grand Pacific Resorts said that 80 of the 350 timeshares have been completed.
"What attracts companies to Carlsbad is the fact that it's a well-planned, well-run city," Stripe said. "When our organization looked at where we wanted to do things 20 years ago, we liked the Carlsbad area."
But I was struck by something else as well, the large number of construction projects that are in progress in our lovely city. In every corner of Carlsbad, someone was moving dirt, sinking utilities into the ground or putting walls and roofs on new buildings.
The City of Carlsbad is attracting investment dollars, which displays a vote of confidence in Carlsbad's economic future. Investors are saying with their checkbooks that Carlsbad is a good place to do business.
On the retail front, Palomar Commons is taking shape at Palomar Airport Road and El Camino Real. Due to open next summer, this project will be anchored by a 150,000-square-foot Lowe's home improvement store, and will include 31,000 square feet of other retail outlets, including a California Bank & Trust, a Chipotle Mexican Grill, a service station and car wash, and other stores and services.
Palomar Commons will occupy 16 acres formerly taken up by the Olympic Resort, which closed in 2009. Colton Sudberry, president of Sudberry Properties, the developer, said that after the hotel closed and plans for an athletic club did not move forward, his firm studied the site to find its highest and best use.
"It was determined that the best use of the site was for retail," Sudberry said. He also noted that the city of Carlsbad doesn't have a large-scale home improvement store, and that residents were taking that business out of town.
"Lowe's thought it would serve the community and so did we," Sudberry said. He noted that Carlsbad's approval process went smoothly, but it took time to get other approvals because the site is across the street from McClellan-Palomar Airport and needed federal approval.
"The city was great to work with," Sudberry said. "They have tough requirements, but they were very judicious. They were quick in their review times and straightforward. It was a good process."
The project is expected to generate more than $450,000 in tax revenue annually for the city, which will help pay for such everyday services as police and fire protection, libraries and parks.
Another project that we're pleased to see is the new Pizza Port company headquarters and brewpub, which is under construction in Bressi Ranch. Pizza Port already has an award-winning brewpub in Carlsbad Village, and three others in San Diego and Orange counties.
The city also is seeing some residential projects in progress, including the La Costa Village Townhomes, which consists of 53 condominiums at El Camino Real and Dove Lane. This project, near the Carlsbad City Library, was approved in 2006 and addresses a growing demand for condominium housing in the city.
On the tourism front, LEGOLAND California is building a new hotel that will feature 250 LEGO-themed rooms. The park has grown its attendance every year and sees the hotel as a way to improve the LEGOLAND experience for its core customers?families with children ages 2 to 12 years old.
"I'm very glad to say we have been able to continue our volume growth story despite the economy, which has been great not only for our continued expansion plans but for an increase in our employment numbers as well," said Peter Ronchetti, Legoland general manager. The hotel is expected to open next year.
Adjacent to LEGOLAND, Grand Pacific Resorts is building an amenities center that will serve its Hilton Grand Vacations Club at MarBrisa, which will offer 350 timeshares when completed. The center will include two 5,000-square-foot swimming pools, three 200-square-foot spas, a 2,000-square-foot clubhouse, a 2,100-square-foot fitness center, an indoor game room, an outdoor bar and grill and deck that can seat 700 people.
Tim Stripe, co-president of Grand Pacific Resorts said that 80 of the 350 timeshares have been completed.
"What attracts companies to Carlsbad is the fact that it's a well-planned, well-run city," Stripe said. "When our organization looked at where we wanted to do things 20 years ago, we liked the Carlsbad area."