California West is scheduled to break ground this month on a Chula Vista housing development designed for people 55 and older.
Called Haddington, the development will have 127 single-family homes in the master planned community of Cota Vera.
Haddington is a new brand for California West and the Chula Vista project is the company’s first entry into the 55-and-over market with more planned.
Partner and COO
California West
“We’ve been considering an entrance into the 55-plus arena for several years and when the opportunity to build Chula Vista’s first for-sale community for active adults came our way, we seized it as the ideal time to unveil the Haddington brand,” said Matthew Thorne, partner and COO of California West.
Citing a report from ResearchandMarkets.com, Thorne said that the active 55-plus market is estimated to reach $805 billion by 2030, growing annually at a compound rate of 4.01%.
Haddington will be California West’s first project in Chula Vista.
“We’ve looked in the Chula Vista market over the years,” Thorne said, adding that the area seemed right for the company’s entry into the 55-plus market because it’s both a mature and growing market.
“You have mature families living down there. They’re getting to a place in life where they’d like to be able to travel,” Thorne said.
Filling a Void
Although the overall housing market slowed in the third and fourth quarter of 2022 due largely to rising mortgage interest rates, Thorne said the market for new home sales is improving.
“Rates have definitely come down and demand has increased,” Thorne said, adding that interest rates have less of an effect on older buyers because they often are downsizing and using equity they’ve built up on homes they’re selling.
“We think it’s a great time to be in the market with new homes,” Thorne said.
Haddington will be a gated community with a mix of single-level homes and two-story paired homes ranging from two to three bedrooms and two to three bathrooms with about 1,453 square feet to 2,226 square feet, plus two-car garages and private yards.
Thorne said that about 70% of the homes will be single level.
“It’s really speaking to the void in the market. The 55-plus buyers don’t want the stairs,” Thorne said. “We think there’s a niche in San Diego to build more single story. You drive through the old neighborhoods in San Diego, a lot of the homes are single level.”
With model homes scheduled to open at the end of 2023, Thorne said the homes will be priced at the high $600,000s to the high $700,000s.
The project will have its own 4,000-square-foot clubhouse with a small office for meetings or for residents to work remotely.
Amenities will include an outdoor pool, sundeck and cabanas and people who live in Haddington can also use Cota Vera’s community amenities that include a pool and fire pit.
Cota Vera’s Central District has art walks, shops, playgrounds, a dog park and a lawn for yoga classes, movie nights and outdoor concerts and workouts.
California West is a development partner and one of the homebuilders in the master-planned community of 3Roots in Sorrento Mesa.
Other communities built by California West include The Shores in Oceanside, Blue Crest in Encinitas, Main Ranch in El Cajon, Encinitas Enclave in Encinitas, Southern Preserve in La Costa, Carlsbad, Signature at PGA West in La Quinta, Skyhaus in Rancho Tesoro, S.L. Rey in Bonsall, Oak Creek in Vista, 12 Pacific in Carlsbad, Westerly at Rancho Tesoro in San Marcos and Upper Cielo in Rancho Santa Fe.
California West
Founded: 1993
CEO and Principal: Robert Thorne
Headquarters: Carlsbad
Business: Housing development
Employees: 70
Website: www.calwestliving.com
Contact: info@californiawestcommunities.com 760-918-6768
Notable: Development partner and one of the homebuilders in the popular master-planned community of 3Roots in Sorrento Mesa.
