Capistrano Shores, a big stretch of beach cottages on the northern tip of San Clemente, has sold for an estimated $100 million.
The twist: the beach cottages, which had operated as a mobile home park, weren’t bought for redevelopment. Instead, the community’s homeowner’s association, Capistrano Shores Inc., bought the land to keep control of the prime real estate.
A sign at the entrance to Capistrano Shores says it all: “It’s Ours.”
The site, near El Camino Real and Pico Avenue, runs along the coast for about three-quarters of a mile. Capistrano Shores counts 90 homes, all facing the ocean.
The property had been owned by Amherst College, thanks to a generous alumni donation.
The Massachusetts-based college put the land on the market about a year and half ago. Irvine-based land brokerage O’Donnell/Atkins listed the property.
A few developers initially were interested in the land. But besides the homeowner’s association, most of the bidders ended up being investors, said O’Donnell/Atkins’ Bret Rosol, who along with Roland Chavez and Brandon Johnson worked on the deal.
“In the end, Amherst decided the land should remain in the hands of the residents,” said Mark Howlett, president of Capistrano Shore’s homeowner’s association.
Howlett is no stranger to business dealings. He was cofounder of software maker DataWorks Corp., which became Irvine’s Epicor Software Corp. in the late 1990s.
He spends his time now dealing with his investments and counts his primary residence in San Juan Capistrano. Like Howlett, most of the owners at the Capistrano Shores have homes elsewhere. Only a few live in the beach cottages all the time.
Howlett declined to discuss the specifics of the deal but said the individual homes now are worth about $2.5 million each.
The beach cottages at Capistrano Shores are as close to the ocean as any homes in the county. Despite a sea wall that runs along the homes, sometimes the ocean proves to be too close.
Howlett says the property has weathered the occasional big storm and high waves without much damage.
There’s a sign noting a tsunami evacuation route near the entrance of the property.
The other quirk of the homes: train tracks are just a few yards away, and a train station is next to the community’s entrance.
“You do get used to the trains,” Howlett said. “It’s part of the homes’ charm.”
Some upgrades to San Clemente’s train crossings are planned, which should eliminate some noise.
The homeowner’s association hasn’t decided what upgrades, if any, to make. But the nearby North Beach section of San Clemente is bound to see some changes. The area is near what’s likely to become one of the busiest hubs of development in the city.
On the bluffs on the opposite side of El Camino Real, Irvine-based master development firm SunCal Cos. is moving ahead with its massive Marblehead Coastal project, which includes homes and outlet stores.
Closer to the beach, Capistrano Shores is next to land where Lab Holdings LLC, developer of The Lab and The Camp in Costa Mesa, is planning a boutique hotel and possibly stores.
A block away, Marc Spizzirri, co-owner of the San Juan Capistrano-based Family Automotive Group Inc. chain of dealerships, is planning to renovate the Miramar Theatre, one of the city’s historic properties.
Howlett says the homeowner’s association is in favor of the nearby development, as long as parking and safety concerns are addressed. n
