Groundbreaking ceremonies were held Sept. 26 for the Sycuan Casino & Resort Tour d’Elegance Luxury Home Tour, a public walking tour of five multi-million-dollar premier estates hosted by the Building Industry Association of San Diego County at The Woods by EastLake in Chula Vista, announced Paul Tryon, BIA executive vice president.

The Sycuan Tour d’Elegance will be open to the public for five weeks next summer. The spectacular site is a picturesque water-view enclave surrounded by the San Miguel and Jamul Mountains and overlooking Otay Lakes. EastLake has been voted San Diego’s best new-home community six years in a row.

Using the scenic site as a dramatic backdrop, the builders of the five ultra-luxury residential masterpieces presented renderings of their homes for the first time, reviewed Tour site plans, and champagne-toasted the Tour d’Elegance.

Participating builders are ColRich Communities, Cornerstone Communities, CDGI, Johnson/Beucler Communities and Shea Homes.

“We are pleased to have Sycuan Casino & Resort as the title sponsor of the BIA’s Tour d’Elegance, and we believe that our affiliation is a natural fit to introduce families to a major entertainment event with appeal for all ages,” stated BIA President Mike Neal of H.G. Fenton Co.

Presenting sponsors are Wells Fargo Bank and San Diego Gas & Electric Co. Site host is The EastLake Company while other sponsors and their affiliation are The Corky McMillin Companies, ticket/coupon; Cox Communications, cable; The United Auto Group (Mercedes, Lexus and BMW of San Diego), automotive; Grand Pacific Resorts, travel; First American Title, concessions; Henry’s Marketplace, Inc., retail grocer; Howard Associates, Inc., landscape architect; Palomar Mountain Spring Water, water; and Dixieline Lumber, home improvement.

The Sycuan Tour d’Elegance will bring together respected homebuilders, noted architects, prominent interior designers and notable landscape architects at one awe-inspiring location for the benefit of all San Diego County residents, Tryon noted. “Sycuan Casino & Resort Tour d’Elegance is the largest community entertainment event in the 64-year history of the BIA,” he said.

More than 55,000 people are anticipated to visit the five residential showpieces at EastLake, a 3,200-acre master-planned South County community, according to Debra A. Dorsee, Tour director. Selected events at the Tour will benefit The EastLake Educational Foundation, Chula Vista Boys & Girls Club and BIA Cares for Kids.

Each of the showplace homes will embrace an architecturally distinctive theme, offering breathtaking lake and mountain views.

The Woods by EastLake offers semi-custom and custom homes on lots ranging from 7,500 square feet to 1.5 acres with home prices estimated from the mid-$500,000s to more than $1 million. When completed, The Woods will include 344 estate-sized homes and 64 custom homesites.

Meticulous attention is being paid to every detail at The Woods, including a custom-crafted entry bridge and hand-crafted iron entrance gates for cul-de-sac custom home sites in The Gates, the precise Tour location. Seventy-six-year-old Eucalyptus trees line an entrance to The Woods, showing the preservation of the original landscape. The stately clubhouse, inspired by legendary architect Addison Mizner and designed by Doug Mansfield of Laguna Beach, captures the influence of 1920s Florida mansions in every inch of its detail.

The EastLake community features a wide variety of residential housing options as well as retail, commercial and industrial areas, and amenities including lakes, a golf course and several private residential recreation facilities. EastLake is home to the nation’s first year-round warm-weather U.S. Olympic Training Center.

Kathy Courtney, director of sales and marketing for William Lyon Homes, serves as chair of the Tour d’Elegance committee. William T. Ostrem, president and chief operating officer of The EastLake Company, one of the largest master-planned communities in San Diego County, is the Tour committee co-chair and site host.