If it were a business, Oceanside would be reaching its maturation stage. The city, now 115 years old, continues to focus on jobs, retail and new hotels to achieve a better balance in the city, to provide quality jobs, to minimize regional traffic woes, to create disposable income for residents to spend in Oceanside stores and to improve quality of life.

This focus is important as the city's remaining land sites have been absorbed and the city seeks to improve its jobs-to-housing ratio. It is particularly important as the city begins to feel the punch of the state budget fix.

Oceanside has historically been perceived as a bedroom community. But its history tells a story of an agricultural community, a sought-after tourist destination and a congenial small town atmosphere. In later years, with the construction of Camp Pendleton and Highway 101, Oceanside opened up to more travelers and was the hub of an active and vital military complex.

Residential development

As San Diego has grown, the largest amounts of remaining real estate are predictably found in the north, south and east. The absorption in the rest of the county and lower land prices in Oceanside have likely spurred the rapid growth over the last 10 years. Oceanside has been adding 800 to 1,000 new houses annually, with the average new home price in 2002 at $418,000.

Because of the city's size, at 42 square miles, there are many subsets of the residential market. In the extreme northeast part of the city is the Morro Hills/Sleeping Indian area, which comprises large estate properties set among avocado and citrus groves, and vineyards. This area of rolling hills has some hilltop properties with sweeping ocean views. While many of them carry a Bonsall address, they are actually in the city of Oceanside.

Other properties include oceanfront single-family homes, right on the beach with panoramic sunset views. As in all beachfront houses, when you drive down Pacific Street, you are looking at the back of the home, and would have to walk on the beach to realize the houses available there.

Other home areas include the new 800-home Arrowood Development in the Morro Hills area. This new master-planned residential area, adjacent to a wildlife preserve, will have a golf course, a new school in the Bonsall School District and a joint city park.

For people wanting to live in an urban village atmosphere, the row homes in West Oceanside are popular. With prices starting at $289,000 about 40 months ago, the single-family, two-story homes of about 2,100 square feet are now priced at $609,000.

Commercial development

Responding to the residential growth, many retailers have taken interest in the large population and rising income levels. While the Home Depot (NYSE: HD), Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) and In-n-Out Burger have been in place for some time, new companies to the city include Barnes and Noble (NYSE: BKS), Chili's, Macaroni Grill, Chipotle, Ulta Cosmetics, Jamba Juice, Vitamin Shoppe, Michael's (NYSE: MIK) and others in the newly redone El Camino North Shopping Center, a Pan Pacific Property (NYSE: PNP) on Highway 78 between El Camino Real and Jefferson.

The Quarry Creek Development, a McMillin project, is now starting construction. This project, immediately adjacent to Carlsbad, will have a Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), Kohl's (NYSE: KSS), Albertson's (NYSE: ABS) and others. Kay Campbell of Morris and Campbell is handling the leasing.

The Elkins Zirpolo remodel and new construction of Del Oro Marketplace has added Armstrong Nursery, Panda Express, Salsa Fresh, McDonalds (NYSE: MCD), Coldstone Creamery, Quiznos and others. Alex Zirpolo, the developer, has also built the first parking lot for the North County Transit District's Sprinter, which will be operational in late 2005.

Armstrong Nursery is one of the retailers that has set up shop in the remodel and new construction of Del Oro Marktplace.

In the South Oceanside area, Adventure 16 will be locating to the intersection of Vista Way and Coast Highway 101, an area of a number of sports retailers.

Beach development includes the proposed six-story, mixed-use project, a Southland proposal, including two levels of underground parking, retail on the ground floor, 14,000 square feet of office on the second floor and 38 large condos on the third through sixth floors. This proposal will be before the Community Development Commission in September. Ron Voigt and Marc Dudzik of Lee and Associates are the leasing brokers for the office and retail.

An approved project that has not yet started construction is Ocean Village, on the corner of Civic Center and Coast Highway. This development will have 10,000 square feet of retail on the first floor and 33 condos in three-stories above.

The city also is selling 5,200 square feet of the former Playgirl Building to a developer for a restaurant use. Lee and Associate's Voigt and Dudzik are also representing the developer in seeking a restaurant user for the site.

A new bridge over the San Luis Rey River is in the entitlement stage. This bridge will replace the Arizona bridge that now crosses the river and leads into the harbor area from Pacific Street.

The city also has plans to landscape and streetscape the beginning of historic Highway 101 from Harbor Drive to where Highway 76 tees into Coast Highway 101. The project includes stately palms, colorful landscaping, entryway signs in the theme of the new gateway sign on South Coast Highway and a new bridge treatment in a maritime theme.

The city has been emphasizing these gateway projects for several years, when the Economic Development Commission came up with a list of key corridors and gateways important to the city's economic success and ability to induce investment. The City Council approved a prioritization of the list, which will take several years to accomplish, and has methodically been doing a project at a time.

Ready to start construction this fall is a landscaped median on Mission Avenue just west of Interstate 5. The EDC recommended and the City Council approved the Oceanside Boulevard Corridor east from I-5 as the single most important corridor in the city after completion of the North Coast Highway project.

This corridor is significant to the city as it leads to the master-planned business park area of the city. The Ocean Ranch Corporate Centre, a Stirling Development project, is about half sold out. The Idec Pharmaceuticals' (Nasdaq: IDPH) office building is scheduled to be completed by November of this year, and the manufacturing buildings should be completed by November 2004.

This first set of buildings, under construction by DPR, is about 500,000 square feet. With the merger of Idec and Biogen to be Biogen IDEC, the city believes there will be even more opportunity for area.

The Oceanside facilities for Idec Pharmaceuticals is currently under construction at The Ocean Ranch Corporate Centre.

Other new businesses to the Ocean Ranch Corporate Centre include OneSource, Ashworth (Nasdaq: ASHW), Rayo Wholesale, Mann Packaging and Paolone Brothers. Ron King and David Onosko of Coldwell Banker Commercial are the brokers for the business park. Hamann Construction is the contractor.

Hamann Construction and Carltas teamed up to build the 30-acre Oceanic Business Park. The 198,171-square-foot park is now under construction and will include small incubator space, industrial condominiums and build-to-suit sites. King and Onosko also represent the Oceanic Business Park.

The 30-acre Oceanic Business Park, currently under construction, will include small incubator space, industrial condominiums and build-to-suit sites.

A newly purchased 37-acre site is the proposed Oceanside Gateway Business Park, being developed by Brian Malliet of BKM Development. Malliet has proposed about 500,000 square feet of buildings in three sizes ranging from small multitenant space to larger multitenant condominiums and build-to-suit sites. Joe McDermott of Coldwell Banker Commercial and Jim Spain of Colliers are representing the project.

In addition to these sites is the 14-acre property at Mission and Caroline Circle, owned by the Josepho family and represented by Spain and Josh McFadyen of Colliers. An application is in for two buildings at Highway 76 and Benet totaling 58,600 square feet. The R&D arm of Nitto Denko America (PNK: NDEKF), the parent company of Hydranautics, has applied for a 31,000-square-foot building adjacent to the Hydranautics site.

Collier's Spain also represents the 152 gross acre site, industrially zoned Rancho del Oro Unit II, immediately east of the Ocean Ranch Corporate Centre. Rancho del Oro Road, from Oceanside Boulevard to Mesa Drive, will be completed in April 2004 and the extension of Old Grove Road from Mesa Drive to College will be completed in January 2004.

Currently in Oceanside, there are 961,346 square feet of industrial under construction and 1,697,214 square feet in the process, 580,567 square feet of retail under construction, and 3,688 new homes in the pipeline. The Planning Commission, the city departments, the City Council and the community are focused on balance and quality for the long run -- quality in design and how the city looks, and balance in the need to create jobs for the future.

Oceanside has a rich history that puts it ahead of the changes affecting much of the rest of California. For many reasons, Oceanside always has been and continues to be, a place where everybody is welcome, where people can find like-minded people and a city that still has the feeling of a small town.

McVey is economic development and redevelopment director for the city of Oceanside.