Downtown Escondido: The Transformation of Palomar Hospital to Palomar Heights
For nearly 70 years, Palomar Hospital was a familiar landmark at the east end of downtown Escondido. Today, the hospital is gone, and its former 13.8-acre campus is being transformed into Palomar Heights, a new mixed-use development bringing hundreds of residents and new commercial space to downtown.
The project was approved by the City of Escondido in 2021, and the former hospital buildings were demolished in 2022. The original plan from Integral Communities called for 510 homes, including 258 market-rate apartments, 90 senior apartments, and 162 townhomes and villas. The project also includes commercial space intended to bring new activity to the eastern edge of downtown.
Today, the residential portion of the project is complete. Marlowe Palomar Heights offers 420 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and townhomes, with the community operated by Greystar.
The next chapter is the commercial component.
When Palomar Heights was first proposed, developers and local business owners emphasized the potential impact of bringing hundreds of new residents, and therefore hundreds of potential customers, into downtown Escondido. Integral project manager Ninia Hammond described the vision as creating a development that would be additive to existing downtown businesses rather than compete with them.
The developer’s website continues to advertise more than 6,000 square feet of retail space, while commercial real estate listings have referenced Palomar Heights as a larger retail and office opportunity. The original vision included spaces for restaurants, a café, retail, a farmers market, coworking and other community-oriented uses.
As the new residents settle in and the surrounding downtown continues to evolve, the commercial spaces could become an important piece of the neighborhood’s future. The success of Palomar Heights may ultimately be measured not only by the homes it brought to downtown, but by how successfully it connects those residents with the businesses, restaurants, services and community that make a neighborhood come alive.
By: Ginger E. Martinsen
Brad Stoner Painting
Business Development
