The Former Expansion Plans

Here is the history of the expansion plans, first revealed in 2005.  

Developer Plans To More Than Double Size Of Mall

Uses renovation as excuse to aggressively expand.

Flower Hill is attempting to urbanize the low-rise, coastal country atmosphere of Del Mar, with a proposed 339% expansion of their mall.  Their aggressive proposal includes a 6 story office/parking structure, possible low-income housing, a new theater complex, and more.  Combined the total improvements on their 14+ acres will exceed an estimated 370,000 square feet (246,000 SF of leasable improvements, plus an estimated 120,000 SF of parking structure).  The preceding data in italics was provided by Protea Properties, owner of Flower Hill, in their most recent public disclosure of its expansion plans for Flower Hill Mall released in September 2005.   Since then, there has been no further specific dimensional data on details of the planned development provided by Protea; only vague statements that the plans are “under review”.   The mall is currently 108,893 SF, making the total new addition approximately 261,107 SF of building area. 

The proposed project will have significant regional impact on: traffic, transportation circulation, air pollution, the serenity of the San Dieguito River Valley with specific damage to the valley biology, geology, paleontology, and water shed; along with added area congestion, noise, a loss of dark-skies, an urbanization of the area, negative esthetics, more visual clutter, more commercialization, more crime, and a further deteriorating of the community's quality of life and lifestyle, affecting everyone in the greater coastal Del Mar/Rancho Santa Fe area.  The community does not need this huge commercial expansion, nor the negative economic, social and environmental impact that an urban shopping center of this scale will have.  

The developer is promoting that this mall is need of renovation.  Nobody disagrees with that position.  However, the developer is attempting to dovetail that "renovation" with this excessive "expansion" of his shopping center, as though one thing justifies the other.  He is even going so far as to promote that this expansion will "increase area home values", yet he is unable to provide evidence of where any shopping center has ever increased residential values.   

This is classic bait and switch, with gratuitous offerings being made to the community.  In this case, it is not how the developer says it, but what he is saying.  Who cares what colors it will be painted, what kind of decorative rock veneer will be used, or how many clock towers and new restaurants Flower Hill will have.  The real issue is the overall size, height and mass of the complex!  Capping that will mitigate all of the issues.

The above photographic mockup was prepared from site plans provided by the developer of Flower Hill to help neighbors visualize the approximate overall bulk and scale of this proposed expansion.  Again, this information was released by Protea in September 2005, but since then, there has been no further specific detailed information.

"That doesn't work for me and my investors!" 

Jeffrey Essakow, Protea Properties

Remember the adage, if you build it, they will come.  This already congested interchange, will realize total gridlock.  We invite you to review the pages of this website to learn more about the issues related to this project.  Help stop the urbanization of our coastal community.  If we allow it to grow, with one big project after another, Del Mar will become another Orange County/Los Angeles.  Don't let the greed of the Flower Hill developer, deteriorate our lifestyle, at our community's expense!  

When recently asked by a group of Flower Hill neighbors, "Why don't you limit the expansion of the mall to 150,000 square feet?" [a customary 25% floor area ratio], the developer responded with: "That doesn't work for me and my investors!"

Apparently he doesn't care that his excessive expansion plans to more than double the size of his shopping center, doesn't work for all of the neighbors that have also invested in their homes in this neighborhood, and want to maintain the Del Mar ambiance and lifestyle.

Click here to download a printable flyer that you may distribute to your neighbors.

Bulk and mass will cast an environmental 

and traffic shadow over the greater Del Mar area!

“When you confuse an urban neighborhood with a shopping mall, civic spirit becomes where you shop, not the community you live in,” said Andrew Blum, contributing editor of Metropolis magazine, which examines how architecture influences modern life. 

Flower Hill Promenade has announced its plan to expand this neighborhood shopping center into a regional size mall.  As stated on their website: www.flowerhill.com/development_press.html, "The shopping center will be reborn as Flower Hill Promenade".  That rebirth will be accomplished in expanding the 14 acre, 108,893 square foot center, into a 246,000 square foot regional mall.   Combined the total improvements on their 14 acres will exceed 370,000 square feet (246,000 SF of leasable improvements, plus an estimated 120,000 SF of parking structure).  

Despite the low rise character and requirements of the Coastal Commission, for structures of no more than 30 feet in height in this area, Flower Hill is located within the City of San Diego, and is proposing to construct a 6 story tall office and parking structure, of significant proportions.  This structure will obscure the casual country landscape of the Del Mar Community (including the cities of Del Mar, Solana Beach and San Diego), and the pristine nature of the San Dieguito River Valley.  Nowhere within sight can a building over 3 stories be seen, other the historic Del Mar Race Track complex. 

High density residential with low income (inclusionary) housing?

The above site plan is a former plan published on the internet in 2004.  This plan features a hotel and a multi-family housing component.  Note the housing is not featured on the current site plan above, but was mentioned on the Flower Hill Promenade website at: http://www.flowerhill.com/development_press.html   The last paragraph on that page once stated:

"Pending community input and city approval, the Flower Hill Promenade renovation project anticipates the start of construction in 2006 in phases, concluding with the residential unit in 2009."

Since then the web site has been amended to read “project anticipates the start of construction in 2006 or early 2007 in phases, concluding in 2009."  They have removed the mention of residential units, however, when asked by many neighbors if he will assure us that he will not reconsider residential units (which must include 25% as low-income housing pursuant to current City of San Diego requirements), Essakow said: "No.  I need to  keep my options open."

 

 

Developer is playing a "moving target - shell game".

 

Jeffrey Essakow, the President of Protea Holdings, owners of the Flower Hill Promenade, has denied any knowledge of certain features previously published on his own website, and claims StopFlowerHill.com’s disclosure of his most recently provided site plan is misrepresenting his plans.  By his claiming, "It is a work in progress", he is conveniently dodging criticism of specific controversial elements that he has previously promoted.  Having formerly disclosed specific square footage of 246,000 square feet of total improvements, a 4 story parking structure, with a 2 story office building a top that structure, he is now suggesting the structure will be shorter, and the overall expansion will be reduced.  However, he is not saying by how much.  100, 500, 1000 - exactly how much smaller is he thinking?

 

Essakow has also stated that "New construction will not exceed the mall's existing roof lines."  What he means is the height of the roof on the small kiosk structure that sits high on the hill adjacent Interstate 5, at the end of Flower Hill Drive .  That is the highest "existing roof line", nearly 6 stories above the parking lot grade below.  The primary buildings are all less than 30' above the parking lot grade, but that is not what he is referring to in his appeasing statement.  How can he be claiming he will build a 6 story parking/office building complex that won't exceed 30' tall? Even sinking 2 stories underground doesn’t get him there.  He can’t, and he knows it.  But, he will always be able to fallback on his misleading statement: "New construction will not exceed the mall's existing roof lines."

 

It is easy to make statements that appease the media and the community, but they must be backed up.  Failing to disclose the truth, in a straight-forward manner, with real statistical and factual information relevant to the actual dimensions, scale, bulk and size of his expansion plan is nothing less than misleading and dishonest.  It is easy for a developer to avoid being nailed down and criticized, when he won't publicly disclose his plans, both verbally, and in illustrated three-dimensional view (site plans, elevations, 3D renderings, a scale model), while he continues to play a moving target - shell game as to where his plans are really at.  

We hereby call upon Mr. Essakow to hold a community wide meeting, for one and all interested parties to attend, where he reveals his current plans in their entirety, including architectural renderings, plans and a comprehensive three-dimensional view of the overall project.

 

Citizens Against Flower Hill's Expansion is a Not For Profit Organization representing the neighbors of greater Del Mar,

 Solana Beach and San Diego, opposed to the proposed aggressive expansion of The Flower Hill Promenade.