EastLake: Press Room

EastLake History
Brief History | EastLake Timeline | Fact Sheet
The EastLake Region Brief History

It was a land of Spanish dons and California caballeros. It was a time when the vast acreage of San Diego County was an open range dotted with roaming cattle. This was the setting of Rancho Janal, a sprawling, 4,436-acre ranch, situated a few miles east of Chula Vista. Janal is an Indian word for "spongy ground" - likely named because of underground streams that crisscrossed the land. Today, this area is the site of the 3,200-acre master-planned community of EastLake.

After the Mexican-American War of 1846, California became a United States territory, which caused Chula Vista-area ranch owners trouble in proving their land grants handed to them by Mexican governors. Land commission hearings continued for years. It wasn't until 1872 that Don Jose Guadalupe Estudillo received a U.S. Patent (property title) to the Janal grant, the same year his aunt, Dona Magdalena, acquired a patent to adjacent Rancho Otay, now known as Otay Mesa.

Meanwhile, a stage route was laid out in 1869 from San Diego to Yuma, Ariz., which ran through both the Janal and Otay ranches. San Diego County Surveyor James Pascoe created the route, the first to pass through only United States land. It was 25 miles shorter than the old wagon trail through Warner's Pass (which was 55 miles long).

Rancho Janal became the site for both the upper and lower Otay Dams and Reservoir, built for the Southern California Water Company in 1900 and 1901. The dams were built by E.S. Babcock, who also built the Hotel del Coronado in 1888. Henry G. Fenton, a subcontractor of Babcock, bought Janal in 1926 and farmed its 3,000 acres, growing lima beans and barley.

"During the Great Depression, when dad was growing lima beans on the ranch, he would turn the fields over to the needy, once the harvest had been completed," Fenton's daughter, Emily remembers. "There still were thousands of beans lying on the ground, and people would flock to the ranch by the hundreds to scoop them up into sacks to take home."

When he died in 1951, Fenton left the ranch to Emily, who then married Navy Rear Admiral Louis H. Hunte. Emily later married Dean Black. She attended the groundbreaking ceremonies for EastLake with her son, Henry Hunte, now president of Western Salt Company, the company founded by Fenton. "Western Salt has had a long-time desire to see the property developed into a quality planned community - one that my grandfather would have been proud of. The EastLake Company is accomplishing that goal," Hunte said. The EastLake Company is now sole owner of the land.

The EastLake Company Timeline

The community master-plan creation began in 1979.
Phase I of EastLake I general plan/zoning was approved in 1982.
Groundbreaking for EastLake Hills and EastLake Shores was held March 1985.
EastLake community grand opening was held April 1986.
First residents moved in July 1986.
First industrial building occupancy, June 1987.
Groundbreaking for EastLake Greens was held in Fall 1989.
Final residential homes sold in EastLake Hills and EastLake Shores, June 1990.
Parcels were delivered to first phase builders in EastLake Greens, June 1990.
Groundbreaking for Phase I of the ARCO Olympic Training Center was held June 1990.
EastLake Greens neighborhood grand opening was held Feb. 1991.
EastLake Country Club opened for public play on June 22, 1991.
First residents moved into EastLake Greens in July 1991.
EastLake High School opened on Sept. 8, 1992.
Dual use library with the City of Chula Vista public library system and EastLake High School opened to the public on August 14, 1993.
Chula Vista Community Park in the EastLake Greens neighborhood, opened July 1, 1994.
Construction began on EastLake's second elementary school, Olympic View, in EastLake Greens, Oct. 24, 1994.
Construction on EastLake Village Center began Nov. 28, 1994.
Athletes moved into the ARCO Olympic Training Center, April 1995.
ARCO Olympic Training Center officially opens, June 10, 1995.
Ruth Chapman Center for the Performing Arts at EastLake High School opens June 1995.
EastLake Educational Foundation established June 1995.
Students moved into Olympic View Elementary School, on Oct. 18, 1995.
The 1,000th home closed escrow in the EastLake Greens neighborhood in October 1995.
Dolphin Beach broke ground on Dec. 1, 1996.
EastLake Village Center construction completed in January 1997.
Dolphin Beach grand opening in EastLake Greens, June 7, 1997.
Ground breaking of Olympic Parkway November 1998.
Ground breaking for EastLake's third elementary school, Arroyo Vista, and for EastLake Trails May, 1999.
First residents move into EastLake Trails November 1999.
Creekside Park in EastLake Trails grand opening, March 2000.
Students moved into Arroyo Vista Elementary, July 2000.
EastLake Trails N. and The Woods by EastLake open for sales July 2002 with first residents in Jan 03.
First Sales in EastLake Vistas Sept. 2002

The EastLake Company Fact Sheet

Headquarters:	The EastLake Co., LLC 13500 Evening Creek Drive North, Suite 400 San Diego, CA 92128 Phone: (858) 513-7800 Fax: (858) 513-7805 http://www.eastlake.net

Description:	EastLake is one of the largest master-planned communities in San Diego County. EastLake features three distinct neighborhoods, commercial and industrial zoning, new schools, parks, lakes and trails. At completion, EastLake will offer approximately 8,900 dwelling units and a population of about 22,000.

Location:	EastLake is located south of Bonita and west of Otay Lakes in eastern Chula Vista. Take Interstate 805 to Telegraph Canyon Road and go east.

Background:	The EastLake Co. oversees all development within EastLake and is responsible for backbone infrastructure and community facility planning. The company markets land to individual builders and commercial, industrial and retail users. EastLake has established design controls that will be implemented throughout the 25-year development program for the community. The EastLake Co. is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Los Angeles-based J.G. Boswell Co., an agri-business concern that has extensive real estate holdings and operations in the Southwest U.S. and is the largest cotton grower in the country.

Key Personnel:	Bill Ostrem, President & CEO Debi Klingner, Vice President/Finance