I picked up this 1.3 acre parcel in Old Carlsbad on Aqua Hedionda Lagoon last week and am getting started on plans for a 3500+ s.f. contemporary custom home. You can see its very close to Carlsbad Lagoon where there are fun summer activities like wakeboarding, kayaking and stand up paddle boarding although the beach is still only 1 mile away.
I’ve got about 30 hours of due diligence in with The City already and feel pretty good about the parcel although its never had a house on it after a sub division lot split in 1980. There are a lot of challenges with this lot but neighboring parcels have all been developed or received approval.
This lot is also in the Coastal Commission area which requires Coastal Development Approval before any grading, public improvement or building plans can be approved.
Home values in this area of Carlsbad are very strong with values in the $1M range. It’s going to be a long permitting process this summer though before we can break ground, I’ve already hired a civil engineer to do a new Topography Survey from which we can do a Preliminary Site Plan with elevations, drainage and grading.
Additionally, we are required to submit a Geo Report for the soils and a Bio Report that documents endangered plant and wildlife on the lot, namely Coastal Scrub Brush and the infamous Gnat Catcher bird. Once we can get all this in to the City we’ll be considered for a Coastal Development Permit after a 30-day wait, and then we can start actually working on the house plans.
This whole process could easily take 6 months from what I’m told so don’t expect to see me start grading next weekend. This is going to be a really fun project, we are really excited to also be doing something in North County and leaning more modern with this home design.
I’ll share some of the prelim info as we get into this and start playing with conceptual designs and eventually work towards another 3D model of the house and site.
Very excited to see this one unfold!Good luck with plans and permits
Tom,
This should be interesting with the difference in size of homes. I look forward to seeing the unique design.
Jason
Yea Jason, the size of the house is twice the size of the last project and also the fact that the lot is not even close to being level. The last lot was sloped 5% but this one is 25% where the house will go and 40% up the hill. After the topo survey is done this week we’ll play with some different configurations and grading options which will most certainly include a below grade garage. The most important thing when considering the site plan is always drainage so the landscape plan will be very important and is being done by a civil engineer.
Very awesome. Can’t wait to see what you do with what looks like a difficult lot!
Looks like a fun project, who is the architect?
Hey Colin, we are using our same designer as the Modern Bungalow although this new project will be all contemporary, no hint of Arts and Crafts. Here is her work http://www.behance.net/AMPenix
Hey Tom,
I know this lot, it is steep, I have ridden my bike by there for decades. look forward to seeing the progress and we would be interested in the price and finish date as you get there
doughboy from Carlsbad