Rejected developer redesigns and re-applies for Carlsbad Village site

A revised version of a four-story, mixed-use development that the Carlsbad City Council rejected in 2018 for the heart of the downtown Village could be back before the Planning Commission by the end of this year.

The Carlsbad Village Center building proposed for the northwest corner of State Street and Carlsbad Village Drive is just as tall as before, up to 45 feet, but with more apartments, according to the revised application submitted in March.

The location is occupied by two small businesses, a Choice Juicery and a Crackheads restaurant, in buildings that include modified used shipping containers. It is one of the busiest intersections in downtown Carlsbad, popular with shoppers, tourists and residents.

“The updated project would replace the existing buildings with a new mixed-use development that includes seven residential condominiums and approximately 3,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space,” said city spokesperson Sarah Lemons.

“The revised application includes two additional residential units to utilize the state’s density bonus law for waivers,” she said in an email. One of the building’s apartments will be reserved for a low-income tenant.

The density bonus law was first passed in 1979 and has been amended multiple times, most recently in 2024. It did not cover the previous version of the project. That plan included two second-floor commercial offices that were replaced by apartments in the revision.

Though small compared to many recent developments in the Carlsbad Village, the project was widely opposed by Carlsbad residents when it first surfaced almost 10 years ago. Many said it was just too big for the 0.17-acre lot, had insufficient parking and would be out of character with the surrounding smaller buildings.

The Planning Commission’s recommendation could go to the City Council for a final decision in early 2026, Lemons said.

Mayor Keith Blackburn is the only member of the City Council who was serving in March 2018, when he voted against the project, even though he said it was “beautiful.”

“I just wish it was somewhere else,” Blackburn said at the time. “It’s just so big for that corner. It did check all the boxes, but it just overwhelms the area.”

The revised plan includes a garage with nine parking spaces for residents that include four in which two vehicles would be stacked vertically with hydraulic lifts. The applicant has requested a waiver under the state density bonus law and AB 2097 to eliminate any commercial parking required for the project.

The project applicant, Leor Lakritz, has had the property for at least 25 years. He also owns other lots on the same block of State Street, according to city records.