One of Chula Vista’s newest residential communities, built on the site of the former Sears building near Broadway, is almost complete.
Developer Cal West Living has begun pre-sales for the two-story and three-story residences that comprise the Citrus Bay community, located on the corner of Fifth Avenue and I Street. More than a dozen have already been sold, a sign of strong demand for townhomes that are within walking distance or a short drive of jobs, food and entertainment, said Matt Thorne, partner and chief operating officer of Cal West.
“Prior to the Sears and mall, this was actually emergency wartime housing and it was surrounded by citrus trees … and now we’re coming full circle and it’s going back to housing,” he said.
The Citrus Bay development, with 244 units when completed, is situated on the site of the former Sears department store at the Chula Vista Shopping Center, which is located between H and I Street. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Citrus Bay, which the Chula Vista Planning Commission approved in 2023, features 244 townhomes on a 15.5-acre site, including 128 two-story motor court residences known as The Towns and 116 three-story attached homes with courtyards called The Courts.
The Towns come in six floorplans ranging from 1,102 to 1,776 square feet with up to three bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms and a two-car garage. Prices start in the high $500,000s for a one-bedroom, low $600,000s for a two-bedroom and climb to mid-$700,000s for a three-bedroom.
On Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in Chula Vista, CA, this 3-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom townhome measuring 2011 sq ft was part of the Citrus Bay development. The development is situated on the site of the former Sears department store at the Chula Vista Shopping Center, which is located between H and I Street. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The Courts offer two- and three-bedroom residences with 2.5 bathrooms, a deck and a car garage. From 1,384 to 2,011 square feet, these models come in three different floor plans.
Monthly homeowner association fees are $262 to $320.
On Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in Chula Vista, CA, this 3-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom townhome measuring 2011 sq ft was part of the Citrus Bay development. The development is situated on the site of the former Sears department store at the Chula Vista Shopping Center, which is located between H and I Street. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The residences boast a Spanish style exterior design with modern touches such as concrete roof tiles, solar panels and an electric vehicle charger in garages.
“These homes are able to blend a lot of these traditional elements with new ones that you don’t see much of in a lot of the older homes here on the west side of Chula Vista,” said Thorne.
Citrus Bay also offers a private recreational center with a pool, lounge space and restrooms.
One amenity residents and the public will share is a public park. Cal West will build a half-acre park on the northeast side of I Street and Fifth Avenue, east of the Chula Vista Center shopping mall. Due to the city’s parkland dedication ordinance, the developer was required to build a public green space along with its residential project. Though the ordinance would have required 1.91 acres of developed parkland based on the 244 townhomes, the urban, high-density project was not suitable for a larger green space, the city said in a February staff report. But because Cal West is building the park and will pay for its amenities, the city deemed the requirements satisfactory.
The City Council in February approved the park master plan, which will include a play area for various age groups, benches, lawn areas, picnic tables and shade structures, as well as meandering paths and fitness equipment. Cal West is expected to maintain the park during its first two decades, at which time the city will take over.
According to city staff, the park’s theme and name, Citrus Bay Park, pay homage to Chula Vista’s rich port history and agricultural citrus groves. The estimated $1.8 million park is expected to be completed within the next 12 months, the developer said.
In 2023, Cal West announced that it had acquired the vacant Sears building, which shuttered in February 2020 as part of a larger effort to close locations nationwide. Demolition took about four months, the developer said.
Marciel Paras, a longtime Chula Vista resident and Citrus Bay sales representative, said the project is coming at a “really exciting time” in Chula Vista when new developments have opened, such as the billion-dollar bayfront resort, and others are underway, including a planned revitalization of the adjacent Chula Vista Center.
In February, Los Angeles-based developer Primestor announced it had acquired the open-air Center for $86 million, with plans to spruce up the 32-acre site that is home to several retailers and an AMC Theatre.
The 1,600-room Gaylord Pacific Resort and Convention Center opened this summer and has already pre-booked more than 900,000 room nights for conventions through 2030. Its multiple restaurants and 4.25-acre water park are open to the public. And it’s only about one mile west of Citrus Bay. The city announced earlier this month that it had launched a daily, free shuttle to the bayfront from multiple locations, including residential communities, parks, trolley stations and the Chula Vista Center.
Originally Published: July 27, 2025 at 5:00 AM PDT