Construction Everywhere

I have been amazed at the amount of construction going on here in the San Diego area, since arriving here less than 2 years ago. now that may seem somewhat surprising, coming from someone who lived in Boston and put up with the BIG DIG for 16 years, beginning in 1991. Granted, the Big Dig was a monumental project of unprecedented proportion and budget (yep, they overran the budget by, I believe, $50 billion), and Bostonians and visitors have been putting up with the aggravation, traffic jams, detours and overall mess for an incredibly long time. And there have been a myriad of delays and recent defects have been discovered. Oh, and yes, the lawsuit. But I digress.

First, there is the housing construction. Since I am a real estate professional I take more notice of these things, I suppose. The hills near my house in La Costa (which used to be almost bare and that I can see from my yard) are now mostly covered with houses at La Costa Greens. And La Costa Ridge is now being built atop the highest hill in La Costa. Bressi Ranch is nearby and the hundreds of homes there have changed the California landscape forever (and not, IMHO, in a good way). Should I mention San Elijo Hills (yes, I think it offers alot for buyers, but wow what a change to the area. And the on-going obliteration of the terrain along Rancho Santa Fe Road. Incredible. I have to acknowledge that I am more used to seasonal construction (for the most part) in Boston due to the weather, but here it is all year long.

There is also all the new housing that has been built at Santaluz, and at The Bridges and The Crosby in Rancho Santa Fe. And the new luxury condos in La Jolla. You can't help but notice the pages of new construction information in the Sunday Union-Tribune.

So what else? Well, Oceanside is seeing dramatic changes to the downtown area and in the redevelopment zone (6 projects, I believe, in the works or planned). The pic to the left was taken during one of my picture-taking journeys around the Oceanside area - the view is from The Strand right along the ocean.

Then there are the massive changes going on with the widening of the freeways, especially the 805/5 junction - at that point in Sorrento Valley I believe there are 21 lanes (new lanes to open in a few days I believe). Amazing.

Some other construction...we have a new racetrack surface being installed at the Del Mar Racetrack, that will supposedly be safer and help avoid the tragedies of this most recent racing season (28 horses had to be euthanized - so sad). And Del Mar voters will get to vote on the proposed median to be installed on Del Mar Heights Road - now that should be a fun construction project. Imagine the traffic at rush hour! And then there is the new public golf course, The Crossings, being built in Carlsbad and due to open in July of this year.

Oh, and I forgot to mention the numerous condo/high rise and commercial projects in San Diego - completed, in progress, or planned - with hundreds of new homes in the financial area, near the marina, in the Gaslamp District, etc.

I could go on...and this is just in the areas I normally travel to. But it's amazing to see especially when you see old photos of the area, even just a few years ago. I guess it's progress.