San Marcos’ long-dormant Old California Restaurant Row is finally getting a major rewrite. Heavy machinery is on site, fresh gravel is going down, and crews are busy grading and installing underground utilities as Lennar Homes pushes ahead with a new mixed-use neighborhood. The low-slung dining plaza is set to give way to townhomes, restaurants, outdoor dining space and a neighborhood park, with the developer promising to keep pieces of the original complex’s character in the mix.
Project background and planning
City planning records show the property has been tied up in a Restaurant Row specific plan for years. That earlier vision called for about 202 residential units, roughly 10,400 square feet of commercial space and a neighborhood park, according to the City of San Marcos. Public workshops and environmental review have been part of the process since late 2022 as the design moved toward demolition and site engineering.
What the updated plan says
More recent filings describe a two-part buildout that increases the housing count and spells out how the old restaurant strip and adjacent parcel will be used. The plans call for 261 residential units in total: roughly 190 townhomes on the main Restaurant Row site and 71 townhomes on the former Sears lot next door. They also outline about 10,400 square feet of ground-floor commercial space on the larger parcel and about 2,900 square feet of commercial space on the Sears site, along with roughly 17,000 square feet reserved for outdoor dining and a neighborhood park of about one acre. These updated figures were reported by The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Design, history and saved materials
The development team says the project will lean into the strip’s Old California look rather than erase it. Plans call for aged stucco, clay tile roofs and salvaged timbers from the original buildings, along with improved pedestrian connections and new landscaped promenades. Architectural materials from KTGY show a human-scaled layout that mixes dining and housing more closely. Local reporting has also noted that city leaders have pushed to keep historic elements in place where possible and to offer reclaimed materials back to the community as part of the redevelopment.
Timing, sales and the build schedule
Lennar representatives told reporters that grading and underground utility work are already underway and that vertical construction is expected to start this spring. Sales of the townhomes are slated to begin in late spring. According to the developer and city planners, some residents could be moving into finished units as early as late 2026 or early 2027, with the full project expected to wrap around mid-2028, per reporting by The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Longtime restaurants and community reaction
Not every familiar name on the strip is making it into the next chapter. Fish House Vera Cruz, a mesquite-grilled seafood staple that opened in 1979, shut its doors in June 2025 after decades in the neighborhood. Its owners reached a settlement with the developer after litigation over easements, The Coast News reported. Other tenants have been relocating or operating month-to-month as demolition and site work move ahead, and some proprietors say the costs of relocating and building out new spaces are forcing difficult and sometimes immediate decisions.
Local coverage has captured restaurant and business owners’ worries about easements and the financial squeeze of moving, even as Lennar and city officials argue that the mixed-use plan will ultimately boost the corridor with new foot traffic, expanded outdoor dining and more public space. The next formal steps include continued environmental review and public comment, followed by planning commission and city council consideration before building permits can be issued.
