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Sabre Springs quietly reaches residential buildout

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Without much fanfare, Sabre Springs recently hit a milestone.

Pardee Homes has finished constructing the final phase of Savannah Terrace, a condominium complex on the northern side of Poway Road and Creekview Drive.

With the completion of Savannah Terrace, Sabre Springs has completed all of the new home development on open space.

“We’re all built out for single family homes,” said Rick Smith, chairman of the Sabre Springs Community Planning Group.

The San Diego City Council gave Savannah Terrace the go-ahead for construction for 289 units on 2.2 acres in 2003, at a time when the majority of Sabre Springs was already built-out or in the process of being built-out.

The parcel where the sandstone and tan colored condominiums now stand was once zoned for a commercial development, and called for a community shopping center, Smith said.

When it debuted in 2004, Savannah Terrace became one of the first local complexes to include a concierge service for its residents.

The service — included in the homeowner association fees — puts residents a phone call or e-mail away from having their dry cleaning picked up, groceries delivered or from getting golf tee times or theater tickets.

A representative at the sales office said all but two units have been sold.

The build-out should change the role of the Sabre Springs Planning Group, which reviews projects and gives advice to the city of San Diego on development issues.

With the exception of ongoing projects — such as the rapid bus terminal slated for the northern portion of the community — Planning Board duties from now on will most likely deal with modifications, and eventually, redevelopment.

“Now the main thing is going to be to maintain the community and make sure that it stays the way it was when we all moved here,” Smith said.

There already has been one impact: The Planning Board is currently without a secretary.

Until recently, that role was performed by a person provided by Pardee Homes under an agreement with the city. As scheduled under that agreement, Pardee stopped providing the service earlier this year.

Meanwhile, plans for a second senior community in Sabre Springs continue to move forward.

Representatives from Sunrise Senior Living, a company that operates hundreds of independent and assisted living facilities worldwide, have expressed interest in building on the southeast corner of Poway Road and Springhurst Drive.

That is Sabre Springs’ last developable parcel.

Smith said he has received a number of letters from residents expressing reservations about the height of the proposal. Representatives from Sunrise Senior Living have said the project they’re looking to build would have four stories and be about 55 feet tall.

Smith said claims the building would be too high for Sabre Springs standards are not true.

He noted that the height of the community’s existing senior living facility, Belmont Village, as well as those of other residential housing projects in Sabre Springs, are comparable. These show the height would not be out of character in the community, Smith said.

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