SAN DIEGO – Alegria Real Estate, an investment group based in Solana Beach, Calif., has acquired 3.87 acres of prime land for new home development in the highly desired residential area of University City. The vacant property was sold for an undisclosed amount by the Roman Catholic Bishop of San Diego, which has owned it since 1961.
Alegria has spent the past three years assembling a $100 million portfolio of more than 175 single-family homes located in master planned communities throughout San Diego County. Having now sold most of these homes, save for a rental portfolio that will be held longer term, Alegria is moving into luxury single-family home development starting with this tract in University City.
“The market is returning to normalcy,” said Brad Tuck, chief operating officer for Alegria. “We believe that home prices have recovered enough that we can justify buying raw land, entitling it and building thoughtfully designed homes that are environmentally friendly and energy efficient.”
Alegria plans to call its new neighborhood West End, since it is located on the west end of University City west of Regents Road between Highway 52 and Governor Drive.
The UC community is primarily single-family detached homes, most of which are less than 2,000 square feet and built in the 1960s, so West End will offer a compliment to homebuyers who want new homes with more living space, modern kitchens, great rooms, green features, technology, and more.
The largest local employers are the University of California, San Diego, and its medical center, along with Qualcomm and the nearby Westfield UTC Mall.