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Duplexes start Pendleton housing expansion

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — The buzz of trucks, compressors and hammers echoes in the streets where scores of homes have risen on a flat part of coastal land in one of Camp Pendleton’s northern reaches.

The duplex-style homes, located in a neighborhood known as San Onofre III, will provide three- and four-bedroom homes, ranging from 1,800 to 2,200 square feet, for 256 enlisted families ranging from E-1s through E-5s. The first families will move into the homes in January.

These homes, which are taking shape where the now-defunct San Onofre Mobile Home Park once sat, are among the first of nearly 1,800 planned for Camp Pendleton over the next five years as the Corps expands to 202,000 Marines, officials said.

San Onofre III is the latest modern neighborhood built for the Corps as part of its public-private venture with Hunt Building Co. and Lincoln Military Properties. All of Camp Pendleton’s 6,532 housing units are managed under the PPV.

The new designs are a far cry from the bland houses built by the government 30 years ago. Homes come in three exterior styles, including Spanish and Craftsman, and have architectural touches including arches, metalwork and river rock. They are painted in earthy tones — slate, gray, warm brown, white, maize and others — and no two duplexes on the block look alike.

“Frankly, our Marines and sailors deserve everything that we can give them,” said Lt. Col. Andy Killion, base housing director. “We designed [them] with feedback from residents as we build successive housing areas.”

The homes here have front yards and ample green space between buildings. Inside, energy-efficient appliances will be installed in the kitchens, which are part of an open-room concept that includes a dining area and family room. There is a separate, smaller living room.

Ceilings are 9 feet tall, and ceiling fans and double-paned windows will help keep cooling costs down. Although the homes were built with the capability for air-conditioning, the Corps hasn’t decided yet if it will install the necessary compressors, said project manager Tim Fraser.

“With each place, we’ve stepped it up to increase energy savings,” said retired Master Gunnery Sgt. Bob Marshall, the base’s deputy housing director.

3 bedrooms, not 2

The new “base line” for family homes is 3-2-2: Three bedrooms, two baths and two-car garages, Killion said. Two-bedroom homes are history.

“That also gives us a lot more flexibility in arrangements as we continually adjust our population,” he said.

The main bathrooms have double sinks, and the master bedroom has its own bathroom and his-and-her closets with shelves. An alcove at the second-floor landing has Internet wiring for a computer desk.

Each home has a fenced yard and patio, front porch, storage closets and laundry room.

The homes are two stories, except for about a dozen single-story homes designed specifically to Americans with Disability Act standards. Those have wider doors and hallways, lower counters, handrails and no steps.

A Spanish-style community center includes a fitness center, kitchen and entertainment room, as well as an outdoor pool, wide patio, shady pergolas and a kid-friendly sprinkler fountain. The fenced-in dog park and several playground sets are amenities often in pricey off-base neighborhoods.

“The big thing is they don’t have to pay homeowner association fees,” Marshall said.

The recent years’ wildfires prompted officials to add more fire prevention into the design, he added. Eaves along the perimeters are closed and attic vents are smaller. Green grass and other landscaping reduce dry fuel that can feed a fire.

The new homes will boost the housing stock in Pendleton’s northern region, which now has 900 units at San Onofre and 76 at nearby San Mateo Point.