Park in progress: City breaks ground on Solterra Vista Park in Pacific Highlands Ranch

The city broke ground on the new Solterra Vista Park on Oct. 29, the last missing amenity in Pacific Highlands Ranch. With the construction now underway with the promise of pickleball and playgrounds, the park is expected to open in 2027.

“You’ve been waiting patiently,” San Diego City Council President Joe LaCava told the crowd gathered on the five-acre lot on Solterra Vista Parkway next to Pacific Sky School on the edge of McGonigle Canyon. The crowd included a group of third graders from Pacific Sky, some of whom got to participate in the ceremonial first digs on the long-awaited groundbreaking.

LaCava said he could recall years ago when the land was just all open space with a dream of what it could become. Over the years the community has taken shape with the development of the fire station, Village shopping center, recreation center, schools and the library, which opened last year.

The planning for Solterra Vista Park started during the pandemic in 2021, with meetings held on Zoom. Over 500 households responded to an online survey for what they wanted to see in the park, from tennis courts to room to play and plenty of shady spots.

“The feedback ensured Solterra Vista Park reflects the vision, needs and sprit of this community,” said Karen Dubey, a longtime community volunteer and chair of the Pacific Highlands Ranch Recreation Advisory Group. “As the saying goes, ‘All politics are local’. And this park is a shining example of what that really means—neighbors coming together, regardless of political affiliation and working for the greater good of Pacific Highlands Ranch. That’s what makes the PHR community so special.”

With a link to Pacific Sky School, amenities at the park will include a pedestrian loop around a 1.8-acre multi-purpose field grassy turf, shaded playgrounds, two lit tennis courts, two lit pickleball courts, and a full-size basketball court. Designed by Schmidt Design Group, the design embraces the site’s natural topography, with a scenic overlook to the canyon at its highest point and a playground that takes advantage of a natural slope with climbing loops, rocks and a slide.

There will be a large community pavilion with picnic tables, restrooms and lots of trees—the park will have its own entrance off Solterra Vista Parkway with a 28-space parking lot.

“I am just ecstatic,” said local resident Gee Wah Mok, president of the Del Mar Union School District board. “I can confidently say that I probably had the shortest commute to this location today, I timed it about four minutes and 20 seconds, I had to walk past eight houses.”

Mok said his family has been eagerly awaiting the park since they moved into the community eight years ago. Their former home in Otay Ranch was similarly across from a new park and school, which he said brings a vibrancy to the neighborhood.

“On any evening you can already see generations of residents from babies to great grandparents, walking, playing, connecting on the school grounds. Soon there will be even more dedicated space for recreation and enjoyment, from playgrounds to pickleball courts and tennis to spaces for picnics and parties,” Mok said. “It’s the dream we first envisioned when we moved here, to feel the life and the excitement of a nearby school and park and now it’s coming true for this community. This park has been the missing piece and with that, the community will feel complete.”

Solterra Vista will be Pacific Highlands Ranch’s third park, joining PHR Community Park and Solana Ranch. As the park is a developer-built project, Tri Pointe Homes (formerly Pardee Homes) is responsible for the permits, bids and construction. Once it is completed, it will be turned over to the city’s parks and recreation department.

At the groundbreaking, Allen Kashani, senior project manager at Tri Pointe Homes, thanked the partners who have been instrumental in the project, consultants like Schmidt Design Group and Leppert Engineering, who have been with them since the community’s first home was built in 2002.

“It’s wonderful to be here for this exciting milestone,” said Kashani, a longtime member of the Carmel Valley Community Planning Board. “From the beginning, our shared goals have been to create beautiful homes and a connected, vibrant and welcoming community of Pacific Highlands Ranch. Parks like this bring that vision to life. They bring people together, support healthy lifestyles and add lasting value to neighborhoods.”