Plans submitted for 5 mansions on Foxhill site in La Jolla

One of La Jolla’s most storied sites might be getting some new neighbors.

New owners of the Foxhill Estate on Country Club Drive, who bought the site for $35 million in May, have submitted plans to build five mansions on the property. The proposal would not affect the Foxhill Mansion, which was known for high-society dinner parties, including once hosting President Richard Nixon.

Investment group Foxhill Invco One LLC seeks permits for five residential lots with three-story, single-family homes, ranging from 8,493 square feet to 13,544 square feet. Each property will have a pool and a basement, rare in coastal California.

The San Diego Planning Commission is scheduled to review the plan on Sept. 19.

The property has an interesting history of ownership changes and proposals to make use of its 32 acres on one of the most valuable pieces of land in Southern California. It also has ties to The San Diego Union-Tribune with the former owner being hotel developer and former newspaper owner Doug Manchester. He bought the 23,000-square-foot mansion for $17 million from the other previous newspaper owner, the Copley family.

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.

Plans would leave the Foxhill Mansion alone and develop the remaining 22.2 acres, which were purchased by Manchester during his ownership.

At a meeting of the La Jolla Community Planning Association, the applicant said the plan will have minimal impact on neighbors because the mansions are not likely to significantly block views. Proposed homes call for one floor below ground and two above ground, limiting the height. Also, some trees growing on the Foxhill Estate already block some views.

Five large homes will have less impact on the neighborhood than, say, a new apartment project or a denser townhouse development. Pro-housing officials would probably prefer a more dense plan, but the new proposal is less likely to cause a neighborhood protest. Each home will have approximately five bedrooms and outdoor living. The smallest lot size will be 19,000 square feet, but the other four lots will be more than 30,000 square feet.

The investment group, Foxhill Invco One LLC, includes Larry Hershfield, chief executive of San Diego-based investment firm Ranch Capital. He also serves on the boards of several companies, including Hawaiian Airlines.

Renderings of the homes were not submitted by Foxhill Invco One to the city or the La Jolla planning group. An environmental impact report for the project said it would have minor impacts to the site in terms of land use, air quality, noise and other factors.

In 2016, Manchester submitted plans for a project called The Reserves that would have seen the project developed into three separate parcels for residential development. The 2016 plan was approved and the new proposal does not deviate significantly from it, according to an EIR signed by the city in August and updated with the five mansions, which should make approval easy for the investment group.