Chula Vista, California
Chula Vista's 71,747 parcels carry $47.4B of assessed value and no owner names online; the most valuable thing in the city is a hotel on Port of San Diego tidelands, taxed as a possessory interest.
10 buildings · 8 with an owner established · 25 sources · 7 tier B · 3 tier A · prepared 2026-10-14
Can you find out who owns it?
California has no public title register. San Diego County's Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk says owner names 'cannot be provided on the internet in accordance with California Government Code section 6254.21', but gives them free by phone and at office kiosks. The Recorder's grantor/grantee index can be searched online; copies of deeds are $2 for the first page and $0.05 for each page after. SanGIS publishes every parcel's values and last recorded document with no owner field. Prices surface through the documentary transfer tax ($0.55 per $500) and through Prop 13, which resets assessed value to the purchase price on a sale.
Is ownership public?Public, but one paid search at a time
Cost of one title searchOwner of record free by phone (619) 236-3771 or office kiosk; record copies $2 first page + $0.05 each additional
Bulk ownership dataNone published
Sale pricesNo transaction data published
Sites that forbid taking their data
- www.sharp.com — “Sharp HealthCare grants you a nonexclusive, nontransferable, nonsublicensable, fully revocable, limited license to use the Digital Tools for your personal, noncommercial use.”
1
The marquee buildings
The towers that set the tone of the core, and who holds them. A price is the price a document states, on the date it states — not an estimate of what the building is worth now.
| Building | Use | Owner | Owner type | Last price paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaylord Pacific Resort & Convention Center 1000 H St, Chula Vista, CA 91910 (Chula Vista Bayfront) 1,600 rooms; convention space with four ballrooms |
Hotel | RIDA Chula Vista, LLC The Port of San Diego says the resort was 'built in partnership by the Port of San Diego, City of Chula Vista, and RIDA Chula Vista, LLC', opened 15 May 2025 under Marriott's Gaylord Hotels brand, and cost $1.35 billion. Ryman Hospitality's FY2025 10-K lists the 1,600-room Gaylord Pacific among competing hotels and says twice that it 'is not owned by us'. The ground is Port tidelands: the roll carries the hotel as two possessory-interest parcels at 1000 H St (APNs 760-048-31 at $767.3M and 760-048-32 at $416.8M, both recorded 26 May 2022), $1.18B in all — the most valuable holding in the city. The vesting entity of the leasehold was not seen on a deed. |
Developer | —B |
| Chula Vista Center 555 Broadway, Chula Vista, CA 91910 490K sq ft open-air, 32 acres (Bisnow) |
Retail | Primestor Development Bisnow (10 Feb 2025): Culver City-based Primestor Development 'has spent $86.1M to purchase' the 490K sq ft Chula Vista Center, 89% occupied, and plans to add housing on the surface parking. Previous ownership had already sold off parts of the site for about 200 townhomes and a Sharp HealthCare headquarters. On the 2026 roll APN 572-010-53 (515 Broadway, 24.7 acres) is $70.26M and 572-010-54 $5.10M, both recorded 19 Dec 2024. No distress is reported; the seller is not named in the article. The vesting entity was not seen. |
Developer | $86.1M 2025-02 Bisnow, 10 Feb 2025. The roll's two parcels on document 351205 (19 Dec 2024) — 515 and 571 Broadway — are reassessed at $75.4M together; other mall parcels carry separate documents. B |
| Otay Ranch Town Center 2015 Birch Rd, Chula Vista, CA 91915 535,000 sq ft (appraisal comp in a 2025 CMBS prospectus) |
Retail | Not established a paid title search would answer it Opened 2006. A March 2018 10News report called General Growth Properties 'the mall's owner and manager'; GGP was taken over by Brookfield Property Partners later that year, and no filing or dated report opened here says who holds it now (Brookfield's retail site redirects off-host). The roll shows three parcels at 2015 Birch Rd on one document dated 5 Feb 2018 — APN 643-061-08 (49.5 acres, $85.1M), 643-061-02 ($22.7M) and 643-061-05 ($18.8M) — and a fourth (643-061-03, $13.0M) recorded 16 Oct 2025. A BMO 2025-5C13 prospectus lists it only as a competing mall (93% occupied). Owner left blank. |
Not established | —B |
| Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center 751 Medical Center Ct, Chula Vista, CA 91911 349 licensed beds (CDPH) |
Institutional | Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center (Sharp HealthCare) CDPH's licensed-facility listing (data date 16 Sep 2026) gives the licensee as Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center, a nonprofit corporation, 349 beds. A licence names the operator, not title, so this is tier B for ownership. On the 2026 roll APN 641-010-28 (16.49 acres, last document 12 Apr 1993) is assessed at $325.3M, the second most valuable parcel in the city after the Gaylord leasehold. Sharp's own website was not used: its terms limit use to 'personal, noncommercial use'. |
Institution | —B |
| Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista 435 H St, Chula Vista, CA 91910 173 licensed beds (CDPH) |
Institutional | Scripps Health CDPH's licensed-facility listing (16 Sep 2026) names the licensee as Scripps Health, a nonprofit corporation, 173 beds at 435 H St. The roll's hospital-use parcels at 435 and 457 H St (APNs 568-370-46 and -50) carry $15.9M and $42.5M, both last recorded 2 Nov 1999. Licensee, not title: tier B. |
Institution | —B |
| Southwestern College (main campus) 900 Otay Lakes Rd, Chula Vista, CA 91910 130.17 acres (roll) |
Institutional | Southwestern Community College District The district's About page gives 900 Otay Lakes Rd as the college's address and describes Southwestern Community College District as 'the only public institution of higher education in southern San Diego County'. The roll carries APN 642-020-28 at that address as a non-taxable 130.17-acre parcel with no assessed value. Public campus land; the deed itself was not seen. |
Government | —B |
| Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center (former US Olympic Training Center) 2800 Olympic Pkwy, Chula Vista, CA 91915 150-acre complex (10News) |
Civic | City of Chula Vista 10News (9 Jan 2017): 'The City of Chula Vista took ownership of the training center on New Year's Day and immediately changed the name to the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center', after the USOC found its business model unprofitable; a February 2016 report describes the 150-acre complex. The roll shows APN 643-040-25 at 2800 Olympic Pkwy as non-taxable, 11.37 acres, last document 30 Dec 2016. A private management team runs it for the city. |
Government | —A |
| University and Innovation District (UID) site Eastern Chula Vista, Otay Ranch ~383 acres |
Land | City of Chula Vista The AB 837 fact sheet (draft revised 16 Dec 2022), sponsored by the City, says the City 'has worked on assembling 383 acres of land' for the UID, acquired subject to private covenants requiring university use, and entitled under the 2018 SPA Plan. About 4,000 homes are projected as part of the mixed-use district, at least 15% of them affordable across three income bands. The bill exempts the parcels from the Surplus Land Act. Whether a university or master developer has been signed was not established. |
Government | —A |
| Sesame Place San Diego Chula Vista, CA (Otay Valley; former Aquatica San Diego site) 66 acres owned; 17-acre theme park |
Mixed use | United Parks & Resorts United Parks & Resorts' FY2025 10-K (Item 2) lists 'Chula Vista, CA 66 acres Owned Theme Park', footnoted as the former Aquatica San Diego water park converted to Sesame Place San Diego in 2022; the business section calls it a 17-acre park. Unlike SeaWorld's Mission Bay site, which is leased from the City of San Diego, this land is owned. |
Public company | —A |
| North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre 2050 Entertainment Cir, Chula Vista, CA 91911 32.65-acre parcel (roll) |
Civic | Not established a paid title search would answer it No filing opened names the owner. Live Nation's FY2025 10-K does not mention Chula Vista; 2018 trade reports of the naming-rights deal describe Live Nation as owner, but they were not opened and could not be confirmed. On the roll, APN 645-021-47 (32.65 acres, $17.6M) and seven neighbouring parcels — 56.7 acres and $22.1M in all — share one document recorded 1 Apr 2022, which suggests the site and adjoining land changed hands together that day. Who bought it was not established. |
Not established | —B |
2
The core land
The most valuable ground in the city, and what the public record says about it.
Every figure is computed from the SanGIS parcel layer (last edited Oct 2026), whose values are the 2026 roll, for parcels whose situs jurisdiction is Chula Vista ('CV'). It gives land and improvement values and the last recorded document, and no owner. The city's most valuable holding is not land at all but a hotel leasehold on Port tidelands.
City of Chula Vista assessment roll, all parcels$47.35B across 71,747 parcels
$20.12B land + $27.24B improvements, situs jurisdiction 'CV'; includes condo, possessory-interest and non-taxable parcels. SanGIS parcel layer, 2026 roll.
Highest assessed holding$1.18B (two parcels)
Possessory interests at 1000 H St — the Gaylord Pacific leasehold on Port of San Diego land: APN 760-048-31 at $767.3M ($50.6M land + $716.7M improvements, 19.28 acres) and 760-048-32 at $416.8M (17.38 acres), both recorded 26 May 2022. SanGIS, 2026 roll.
Highest assessed fee parcel$325,297,000
APN 641-010-28, 751 Medical Center Ct (Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center), 16.49 acres, last document 12 Apr 1993. Next: an apartment parcel at 1625 Santa Venetia St ($126.9M). SanGIS, 2026 roll.
Highest land value on a single parcel$110,396,382
APN 644-060-20, 2275 Hard Rock Rd, 212.15 acres, almost no improvements ($0.18M), last document 31 Dec 2013. The holder is not established. SanGIS, 2026 roll.
Private interests on public land (76x possessory-interest parcels)$1.29B across 85 parcels
Almost all of it is the Gaylord Pacific leasehold; the rest are smaller interests on Port and other public land. SanGIS, 2026 roll.
3
Who owns the town
At this scale the significant owner is rarely a trust or a fund: it is one or two local holding companies, a family in its second or third generation, and often the land around the town rather than the buildings in it.
Most of Chula Vista's biggest holders are public. The City owns the training centre, parks and the Bayfront parcel planned for Pacifica's Amara Bay. The Port holds the tidelands under the Gaylord Pacific and the Bayfront marinas. School and water districts, Caltrans and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (Sweetwater Marsh) hold the rest. The largest private holding on record was HomeFed's Otay Ranch land. Parcel counts come from the County HHSA's 2019 union of SanGIS parcels with SanGIS's public land-ownership layer, de-duplicated by APN, for situs jurisdiction 'CV'. The layer itself warns it is not authoritative ownership data, and it gives classes, not named districts.
| Name | Type | Parcels held (2019 layer) / as stated |
|---|---|---|
| City of Chula Vista APNs classed 'City' in the 2019 layer. The City also assembled about 383 acres for the University and Innovation District between 2001 and 2014 (AB 837 fact sheet), took over the Elite Athlete Training Center from the USOC on 1 Jan 2017 (10News), and owns the Bayfront parcel where Pacifica Companies plans Amara Bay (Port of San Diego). |
Government | 828 parcels; ~383-acre university siteB |
| School districts (Chula Vista Elementary, Sweetwater Union HS, Southwestern CCD) APNs classed 'School Districts'; the layer does not separate the districts. Southwestern College's 130.17-acre main campus at 900 Otay Lakes Rd is on the roll as non-taxable. |
Government | 108 parcelsB |
| Water districts (Otay Water District, Sweetwater Authority) APNs classed 'Water Districts'; the layer does not name the district. |
Government | 51 parcelsB |
| Port of San Diego (San Diego Unified Port District) APNs classed 'Port of San Diego' inside Chula Vista (2019 layer). The Port's Bayfront page describes Gaylord Pacific, Sweetwater Park (39 acres, its largest park) and Harbor Park on its land, and an RV resort run by Sun Communities, which lists 'Sun Chula Vista Bayfront RV LLC' among its subsidiaries. |
Government | 37 parcelsB |
| County of San Diego APNs classed 'County' inside Chula Vista, 2019 layer. The State holds 8 more, Caltrans 18 and the State Lands Commission 2. |
Government | 28 parcelsB |
| US Fish and Wildlife Service APNs classed 'U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service' (2019 layer); the Port's page places the Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife Refuge next to Sweetwater Park. 4 more parcels are classed 'Military Reservations' and 4 'Other Federal'. |
Government | 20 parcelsB |
| HomeFed (now a Jefferies Financial Group subsidiary) HomeFed's FY2018 10-K; about 2,800 acres were open-space mitigation land, and not all of it lies inside the city. No later figure is published, since HomeFed stopped filing after the 2019 merger. |
Developer | ~4,450 acres in Otay Ranch (31 Dec 2018)A |
5
Who builds the houses
New-home building in this market: the volume, and the firms behind it. Ownership of a builder matters as much as its volume — a private-equity platform and a family firm behave differently.
Chula Vista's growth is the Otay Ranch master plan in the east of the city: a master developer entitles and grades land, then sells or joint-ventures lots to production builders. HomeFed (owned by Jefferies Financial Group since July 2019) said in its last 10-K that it owned about 4,450 acres in Otay Ranch, approved for about 13,050 homes, and had set up three builder joint ventures for 948 homes in Village 3 (Escaya). Permits have slowed sharply: the Census Bureau's 2025 Building Permits Survey counts 536 new units authorised in the city in 2025 — 112 single-family, 80 in duplexes, 17 in 3–4-unit buildings and 327 in buildings of five or more. No source gives builder market shares for the city; the figures below are each builder's stated Chula Vista project or company segment.
| Name | Type | Stated Chula Vista project / segment |
|---|---|---|
| HomeFed (Jefferies Financial Group) HomeFed's FY2018 10-K: master developer of the 'Otay Land' project in Otay Ranch, with Village 3 (Escaya, 948 homes through three Builder LLCs) and Village 8 West (Cota Vera, planned for 2,379 units). About 2,800 of the acres are open-space mitigation land. Not all of the acreage lies inside city limits. HomeFed merged into a Jefferies subsidiary on 1 July 2019 and has filed nothing since. |
Developer | ~4,450 acres in Otay Ranch (2018); ~13,050 units approvedA |
| Shea Homes Named by HomeFed's vice president in The Star-News (17 May 2018) as one of three builder partners at the Village of Escaya. Shea Homes is part of the privately held J.F. Shea group. No unit count is given for Shea alone. |
Family / private | Builder partner at EscayaA |
| Lennar Lennar acquired CalAtlantic, one of the three Escaya builder partners (Star-News, 2018). Its FY2025 10-K reports 19,713 West-segment deliveries but no Chula Vista figure; its Exhibit 21 lists entities named 'Homefed SPIC Otay, LLC', 'SPIC Otay, LLC' and 'LMC Millenia Holdings II, LLC', which shows Otay Ranch and Millenia holdings but not their size. |
Public company | 19,713 homes delivered FY2025 (West segment)B |
| Brookfield Residential Named in The Star-News (17 May 2018) as an Escaya builder partner alongside Shea and CalAtlantic. No unit count is given; its current parent was not confirmed from a filing opened here. |
Public company | Builder partner at EscayaA |
6
Commercial landlords
The commercial side, counted separately from housing: who holds the office, retail and industrial floor area.
Chula Vista has few institutional landlords. The REITs that name the city in their 10-Ks own apartments in Otay Ranch and the odd neighbourhood shopping centre; the big commercial assets are a Port leasehold (Gaylord Pacific), an open-air mall bought by a Los Angeles developer in 2025, and a theme park owned outright. Figures are as each owner's filing or a dated report states them; no free source ranks owners within the city.
| Name | Type | Chula Vista holding |
|---|---|---|
| RIDA Chula Vista, LLC Port of San Diego: Gaylord Pacific was built in partnership by the Port, the City and RIDA Chula Vista, LLC, and opened in May 2025. It stands on Port tidelands; the roll taxes the leasehold at $1.18B. |
Developer | 1,600-room resort; $1.35B projectA |
| Essex Property Trust FY2025 10-K: Pinnacle at Otay Ranch I & II, Chula Vista, mid-rise, 364 units, built 2001, acquired 2014, 96% occupied. |
REIT | 364 apartmentsA |
| Camden Property Trust FY2025 10-K Schedule III lists Camden Sierra at Otay Ranch, acquired 2003, $10.6M land and $69.8M buildings and improvements at gross cost. The unit count is not stated in the passage read. |
REIT | $80.4M gross cost (Camden Sierra at Otay Ranch)A |
| Primestor Development Bisnow, Feb 2025: bought the 32-acre open-air Chula Vista Center for $86.1M and plans to add housing on its parking. |
Developer | 490K sq ft (Chula Vista Center)A |
| United Parks & Resorts FY2025 10-K: Chula Vista theme park, 66 acres owned — Sesame Place San Diego, the former Aquatica San Diego. |
Public company | 66 acres ownedA |
| RREEF Property Trust FY2025 10-K: Terra Nova Plaza, Chula Vista, retail, 96,114 rentable sq ft, acquired 2 Oct 2014, 100% leased at 31 Dec 2025. A trade report found in search says a 'global investment manager' sold it for $30.4M through JLL; that report was not opened and its date is unknown, so this holding may since have been sold. |
REIT | 96,114 sq ft (Terra Nova Plaza)B |
?
Looked for and not found
Claims this page would have made if a source could be opened. They are left out rather than guessed.
- Who owns Otay Ranch Town Center now. GGP was named as owner in 2018 and was absorbed by Brookfield that year; one of its parcels carries a document dated 16 Oct 2025. No current filing or dated report names a holder.
- Who owns the North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre. 2018 naming-rights reports in search results call Live Nation the owner, but Live Nation's FY2025 10-K does not mention Chula Vista, and the roll shows the site and adjoining land recorded together on 1 Apr 2022.
- The holder of 2275 Hard Rock Rd: 212 acres, with the highest land value in the city ($110.4M) and almost no improvements.
- Whether RREEF Property Trust still owns Terra Nova Plaza. A JLL-arranged $30.4M sale appears in search results; its date was not established.
- The vesting entities on the Chula Vista Center and Gaylord Pacific leasehold deeds. Deed images are sold, and APN search is offered only at county kiosks.
- Current ownership of HomeFed's Otay Ranch acreage after 2018: HomeFed stopped filing after its July 2019 merger into Jefferies.
- Sharp and Scripps hospital land title: the state licence names the operator, not the title holder.
- Status of the University and Innovation District master developer, and whether AB 76 (2025) was enacted.
- Chula Vista's own documents (staff reports, property lists) could not be read: chulavistaca.gov returned Akamai 403.
§
Sources
- SanGIS Parcels feature layer (Hosted/Parcels) — APN, situs, land/improvement values, last recorded document number and date; no owner field — SanGIS / SANDAG (data from San Diego County ARCC) · openA
- 2026 Secured Assessment Roll Search — 'property ownership information cannot be provided on the internet in accordance with California Government Code section 6254.21' — San Diego County Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk (ARCC) · openA
- Property Information — ownership given by phone (619) 236-3771 and on office kiosks; copies $2 first page, $0.05 each additional — San Diego County ARCC · openA
- Recording — Official Records Index online (APN search only at kiosks), Documentary Transfer Tax $0.55 per $500 — San Diego County ARCC · openA
- Chula Vista Bayfront Redevelopment — Gaylord Pacific 'built in partnership by the Port of San Diego, City of Chula Vista, and RIDA Chula Vista, LLC', $1.35 billion, 1,600 rooms — Port of San Diego · openA
- Primestor Returns To San Diego County With $86M Chula Vista Buy — Bisnow · openA
- Chula Vista's ghost town (Otay Ranch Town Center; 'General Growth Properties, the mall's owner and manager') — 10News (KGTV) · openA
- Licensed and Certified Healthcare Facility Listing (health_facility_locations.csv) — licensee name and entity type per facility — California Department of Public Health via CHHS Open Data · openA
- About SWC — Southwestern Community College District, 900 Otay Lakes Rd — Southwestern Community College District · openA
- Olympic Training Center gets a new name, new owner and new mission — 10News (KGTV) · openA
- United Parks & Resorts FY2025 Form 10-K — Item 2 Properties (Chula Vista 66 acres owned) — US Securities and Exchange Commission / United Parks & Resorts · openA
- Ryman Hospitality Properties FY2025 Form 10-K — Gaylord Pacific 'not owned by us' — US Securities and Exchange Commission / Ryman Hospitality · openA
- USOC votes to transfer the Olympic Training Center to the City of Chula Vista (150-acre complex) — 10News (KGTV) · openA
- BMO 2025-5C13 prospectus (424B2), Imperial Valley Mall competitive set — Otay Ranch Town Center 535,000 sq ft, 93% — US Securities and Exchange Commission / BMO Commercial Mortgage Securities · openA
- HomeFed Corporation FY2018 Form 10-K — Otay Land project, ~4,450 acres in Otay Ranch, Village of Escaya Builder LLCs — US Securities and Exchange Commission / HomeFed · openA
- Top homebuilders and architects collaborate creating design excellence at the Village of Escaya — The Star-News (Chula Vista) · openA
- Lennar FY2025 Form 10-K (West segment deliveries) and Exhibit 21 subsidiaries — US Securities and Exchange Commission / Lennar · openA
- Essex Property Trust FY2025 Form 10-K — property list (Pinnacle at Otay Ranch I & II) — US Securities and Exchange Commission / Essex · openA
- Camden Property Trust FY2025 Form 10-K — Schedule III (Camden Sierra at Otay Ranch) — US Securities and Exchange Commission / Camden · openA
- RREEF Property Trust FY2025 Form 10-K — properties owned (Terra Nova Plaza, Chula Vista) — US Securities and Exchange Commission / RREEF Property Trust · openA
- Public Owned Parcels (union of SanGIS PARCELS_ALL and LAND_OWNERSHIP_SG, created 2 Aug 2019) — ownership class per parcel — County of San Diego HHSA (ArcGIS Online) · openB
- Building Permits Survey, place annual file we2025a.txt — Chula Vista (FIPS place 13392), 2025 — US Census Bureau · openA
- Sun Communities FY2025 Form 10-K, Exhibit 21.1 — 'Sun Chula Vista Bayfront RV LLC' — US Securities and Exchange Commission / Sun Communities · openA
- HomeFed Corporation Form 8-K, 1 July 2019 — merger into a wholly owned subsidiary of Jefferies Financial Group — US Securities and Exchange Commission / HomeFed · openA
- AB 837 fact sheet: SLA Exemption for the City of Chula Vista's Entitled University Land (~383 acres) — California State Assembly, District 80 office · openA