First look: Foxhill development in La Jolla, with homes up to $27.5M, starts work

Work on the first gated community in La Jolla in decades started recently with the clearing of a three-hole golf course and the marketing of unbuilt homes.

Foxhill La Jolla developers are busy transforming the site off Romero Drive for multimillion-dollar homes with ocean views. The 32-acre property made a splash in 2024 when it sold for $35 million, tied for the biggest real estate sale that year.

Developers had originally planned for five mansions, but have submitted plans to build an additional 13 homes. The expansion is still working its way through city approvals, while people involved in the development are mostly focusing on the already approved five mansions.

On Thursday morning, real estate agents Brett Dickinson and Ross Clark gave The San Diego Union-Tribune a tour of the site. The mini-golf course has been cleared, leaving a big dirt patch where homes will be built.

Dickinson and Clark, agents with Compass who have the listing, said one lot is now in escrow for around $8.5 million without a single brick laid. The pair said they expect to get all city construction permits to be buttoned up by February, and the full development completed within 16 months.

The agents said interested buyers have come from around Southern California, Florida and Texas. A flashy website has been set up that promotes “stunning ocean views and state-of-the-art security” at the development.

Foxhill La Jolla had a bit of a reverse trajectory compared to most San Diego County developments these days because it isn’t trying to build a ton of homes. The listing agents, who are part of the development team, said it faced a lot of pressure to build more on the site. San Diego planners, and those throughout much of the U.S., are pushing to get denser developments to combat affordability challenges among working- and middle-class buyers.

“We had to battle to do fewer homes,” Clark said.

Dickinson said one thing helping neighbors accept the project is the understanding that a much busier development was preferred by city planners. In theory, the thinking is it could have been much worse. There were still objections to the gated community — including one formal appeal that was later withdrawn — but he said concessions were made to appease concerns.

One home had its height lowered by 18 inches, Dickinson said, to placate a neighbor who objected to their views of the ocean being obstructed. Developers weren’t required by law to lower the height, but he said it went a long way in helping move the project along.

Foxhill La Jolla has different prices for the mansions that depend on whether the buyer buys the site and its plans or they buy the lot with a constructed home. The most expensive is on a 31,147-square-foot lot listed for $27.5 million. It would feature a 12,795-square-feet main residence, a three-car garage, seven bedrooms and 10 bathrooms.

Another lot, at 19,404-square-feet but with a four-car garage, is listed for $23.5 million. The other three residences are listed as only lots with the option to buy the plans (not a completed house) from $8.6 million to $8.9 million.

Developers include Larry Hershfield, chief executive of San Diego-based investment firm Ranch Capital, and Tom Waters, owner of Tom Waters Construction, a firm known for building multimillion-dollar homes.

The site of the gated community is on the estate that holds the storied Foxhill mansion. The home was previously owned by hotel developer Doug Manchester, a former owner of the Union-Tribune, and before that, the Copley family, also former owners of the newspaper. The old home is not included in the five-mansion gated community but would be inside the proposed expansion.

The mansion was known for high-society dinner parties, including once hosting President Richard Nixon. The French-style home was built in 1959 but went through many changes over the years, including its expansion by Manchester. A 2015 vote by the San Diego Historical Resources Board determined it was not historic.

The Foxhill mansion is now listed as a short-term rental for $75,000 a month, but shorter-term rentals are available. The minimum to rent is three days, which still can be more than $3,000.

Foxhill La Jolla takes up 22 acres of the entire 32-acre site. If the expansion is approved, it would be on a 10-acre site around the Foxhill mansion that now includes a tennis court, guest house, solar panels and other features added by Manchester.