The developer who owns the strawberry fields property and adjacent land along Interstate 5 at Cannon Road in northern San Diego County today announced plans for a retail center and open-space preservation.
Rick Caruso, who builds open-air retail centers, proposed a 26-acre complex with shops, a movie theater and restaurants that overlook the adjacent Agua Hedionda Lagoon.
“Our projects are all about creating gathering places,” said Caruso.
The rest of the 203 acres owned by Caruso Affiliated — or about 85 percent of the property it has acquired in recent years — will be set aside for open space. Caruso said a strawberry-growing operation will continue, and his firm will add picnic areas and walking trails to an area that´s now generally inaccessible to the public.
He also said the company will sponsor a petition signature drive in support of his project, which could go before the City Council in August.
The family-owned Carlsbad Strawberry Co. will be allowed to continue farming the land, as it has done for more than 50 years. For part of the harvesting season, the company runs a “U-pick´´ operation in which the public can roam rows and rows of plants to collect the ripest fruit.
The future of the fields has been controversial in Carlsbad over the past decade or so, with continuing development in the city eating up much of the remaining open space. In 2006, residents were able to prevent another developer from purchasing the land, and building hundreds of homes and shops.
Caruso, the developer behind such open air shopping malls as The Grove in Los Angeles, The Americana at Brand in Glendale and The Commons in Calabasas, has held numerous meetings with residents to get input on the future of the land.
“Through this process we have learned that Carlsbad wants new access to open space, preservation of its beloved strawberry farming and additional ways to enjoy Carlsbad,” Caruso said. “Our Agua Hedionda 85/15 Plan will accomplish all of these goals, while preserving and protecting the lagoon, coastal habitat and agriculture.”
The announcement today included company officials, representatives of environmental groups, residents and Jimmy Ukegawa of the Carlsbad Strawberry Co.
“My family has been growing strawberries here since the 1950s and, since then, strawberry farming by the Agua Hedionda Lagoon has become a staple of our community and an iconic Carlsbad tradition,” Ukegawa said.
“I support the 85/15 Plan because it keeps our strawberry farming heritage sustainable and economically viable, while keeping the Carlsbad Strawberry Company on the property and in Carlsbad for generations to come,” Ukegawa said. “We also will have an opportunity to expand our farm with various fruits and vegetables, including organic crops.”
Caruso said details about the shopping and dining development will be released at a later time.