Seven-story development coming to downtown Oceanside

Subscribe and get our journalism delivered directly to your inbox. It’s free.

Sign up

AI-assisted narration

In this story we used an AI narration tool to help us meet our accessibility standards and provide our journalism to people who prefer to engage with an audio format. We carefully selected this tool after making sure it operates in a way that would meet our editorial and ethical standards. Using Artificial Intelligence in this process allowed us to efficiently compile and distribute the content in a different format, allowing our team to focus on delivering more in-depth and timely stories.

A seven-story building with nearly 330 apartments, restaurants and shops is slated for Oceanside’s downtown plaza. 

The development will sit at 401 Mission Blvd., replacing what residents said was a beloved yet struggling Regal Cinemas movie theater. The project was unanimously approved by the Oceanside City Council last week after the developer, J.H. Real Estate Partners, increased the size of the included plaza by about 60% from its previous proposal. 

October’s public hearing followed a lengthier hearing in August, in which community and council members worried that the development would ruin what the mayor referred to as the “iconic” downtown plaza, which many people said was a key fixture of the community. 

After asking for more time to address community concerns, Developer Ernie Rivas returned to the council last week with a proposal that included a 15,439 square-foot plaza, up from the previously proposed 9,449 square feet. The developers also expanded the commercial area to 26,490, an increase from the original 18,682 square feet. They cut six residential units, including one of the affordable units, and nearly 40 parking spaces, bringing it to 554 parking spots.

“Wow. wow,” Mayor Esther Sanchez said at the October meeting. “It’s just so fantastic. Great change.” 

Rivas said he does not have a definitive timeline for the project yet. The demolition of the existing site will take several months, and then around a year to do the construction documents and get a building permit. 

Of the 326 apartments, 33 will be affordable units. Most of the apartments will be two or three bedrooms. There are also 15 studio and 35 three-bedroom apartments. 

In August, the mayor, members of the public and the City Council worried about the development disrupting the plaza in Oceanside. 

One public commenter referenced a petition with nearly 5,000 signatures in support of preserving the plaza. 

The mayor agreed. 

“The plaza was a place for people to gather. The idea was to bring people downtown and have a place to gather,” Mayor Sanchez said. “This plaza that we’ve had has become iconic.”  

Others took issue with the whole premise of the development, including the fact that only 10% of it is designated as affordable housing, and said it would lead to gentrification.

“Oceanside continues to build new development and housing, but it never really benefits our community,” Alondra Herrera said during public comment in August. “There are more low-income families in Oceanside who need affordable housing than just your bare minimum 10%.”

Although beloved, the plaza and businesses there have struggled in recent years, according to the city and the developer, who already owns the property. Four businesses have closed in the last two years, and the Regal Cinemas “struggles to occupy its theaters.”

The newly proposed plaza will be 250 feet by 61 feet and have seating throughout. 

“My mom told me, ‘I have two ears, one mouth. Listen more.’ And I hope we did,” Rivas told councilmembers.