You may or may not know about the new shopping center being built near Canyon Crest Academy. Will Cathedral students go to this new location, or will their loyalty to the Del Mar Highlands Town Center prevail?e

Construction for the new shopping center off of Carmel Valley Road and Del Mar Heights Road started in the spring of 2014. The shopping center will include 331 apartments, 150,000 square feet of retail space, and a town square. The retail portion, whose developer is Coast Income Properties and whose architect is SGPA, is supposed to open in the beginning of 2015. A residential portion will open in spring of 2017.

Daniel Curran, a Uni graduate from 1990 and Vice President of Coast Income Properties, said of the retail tenants, “We’ve signed and formally announced leases with Trader Joe’s, Rite Aid, Panera Bread, The Baked Bear Ice Cream Sandwiches, Revive Salon and Day Spa, Pacific Dental Group, and Wells Fargo.” Coast Income Properties also has signed a lease with a coffee shop, a gift boutique, and a clothing store all of which will be formally announced soon. They are negotiating with numerous other restaurant and service tenants which will be announced as the leases are finalized.

The rental portion of the Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch is being built on 7.4 acres adjacent to the retail portion by Wermers Properties with R&V Management, and is being designed by Architects Orange. The rental portion will include a lifestyle club area, pool, cabanas, pet grooming facilities, a playground, and fourth floor roof deck.

There are many big plans for the “Village Square area which will have a large, almost football-field sized area that will include fountains, a splash pad for children, fireplaces, outdoor living room areas, etcetera,” said Curran.

Many students are still curious to see if certain restaurants will be built there. Senior Kendall Hightower said, “I hope they are building an In-n-Out or another Starbucks.” Also, many students are deliberating if they will continue to go the the Del Mar Highlands Town Center or the new Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch, but for sophomore Victoria Aragon, the choice is clear: “I would go to the Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch because it’s closer and on the way home, so it’s more convenient for me.” There are other students, like sophomore Jacob Isen, who “would still go to the Del Mar Highlands because they have more food options I would prefer.”

In the end, the new shopping center, while popular for some, seems that it will not be used by a majority of Cathedral students because of the well-liked restaurants in the Del Mar Highlands Towns Center. However, it will definitely be a relief to have something new for our Cathedral students.