Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Cardiff flower farm is history

Acreage bought in 1948 to be split into plots for four homes

Four acres for $3.8 million
Four acres for $3.8 million

One of Cardiff-by-the-Sea’s last farms has been sold. The four-acre former Fugimoto flower farm at the corner of Lake Drive and Birmingham Drive has sat vacant for years, since Morizo Fugimoto retired.

Kiki's flower stand on the corner will be gone at the end of the month

The Fugimoto family was one of many North County Japanese farmers that were interned at the Poston, Arizona War Relocation Center. The family received the full asking price of $3.8 million.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Jack Fugimoto, the oldest son of Morizo’s five-sibling clan, said, “All the families stored what they could in a community center on Balour Drive. When we returned after the war, it was all gone, just junk remained.”

The originally 12-acre farm was purchased in 1948. It was a chance for the Leucadia sharecropper, who had been growing strawberries down near the Batiquitos Lagoon, to return to the post-war farming lifestyle. “But even after the war, as an immigrant from Japan, it was illegal for dad to own property, so he put everything in my name,” said Fugimoto.

“My dad tried farming vegetables at first,” said Fugimoto. In 1968, the senior Fugimoto joined the Encinitas flower co-op, just as the area was becoming known as the “Flower Capital of the World.” Local flower growers would meet the northbound Santa Fe trains at the Encinitas station to load flowers in refrigerated boxcars. Or some would drive daily to LAX for air-cargo shipments around the country.

“He made a good living with flowers. It allowed him to retire comfortably, “ said Fugimoto. “He wasn’t doing well with just vegetables.”

According to Doug Harwood, the family’s real estate agent, the new owners, Zephyr Partners, will not try to increase buildable density of the property. He says the company will build within the city’s current zoning — four ocean-view luxury homes of one acre each.

Unfortunately, the longtime Kiki’s flower stand on the property will need to close shop by the end of the month. And Christmastime’s Ted’s Trees lot will not be up this year; Ted Platis will move his lot to the weekend bazaar lot next to the La Paloma Theatre on Coast Highway. However, the farm’s new owners will allow him to post a sign notifying customers of his new location.

The Fugimotos asked Harwood for a plaque to be placed on the property for the public to read about the history of the family and the farm.

“He was happy to do it,” said Jack Fugimoto.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego Dim Sum Tour, Warwick’s Holiday Open House

Events November 24-November 27, 2024
Four acres for $3.8 million
Four acres for $3.8 million

One of Cardiff-by-the-Sea’s last farms has been sold. The four-acre former Fugimoto flower farm at the corner of Lake Drive and Birmingham Drive has sat vacant for years, since Morizo Fugimoto retired.

Kiki's flower stand on the corner will be gone at the end of the month

The Fugimoto family was one of many North County Japanese farmers that were interned at the Poston, Arizona War Relocation Center. The family received the full asking price of $3.8 million.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Jack Fugimoto, the oldest son of Morizo’s five-sibling clan, said, “All the families stored what they could in a community center on Balour Drive. When we returned after the war, it was all gone, just junk remained.”

The originally 12-acre farm was purchased in 1948. It was a chance for the Leucadia sharecropper, who had been growing strawberries down near the Batiquitos Lagoon, to return to the post-war farming lifestyle. “But even after the war, as an immigrant from Japan, it was illegal for dad to own property, so he put everything in my name,” said Fugimoto.

“My dad tried farming vegetables at first,” said Fugimoto. In 1968, the senior Fugimoto joined the Encinitas flower co-op, just as the area was becoming known as the “Flower Capital of the World.” Local flower growers would meet the northbound Santa Fe trains at the Encinitas station to load flowers in refrigerated boxcars. Or some would drive daily to LAX for air-cargo shipments around the country.

“He made a good living with flowers. It allowed him to retire comfortably, “ said Fugimoto. “He wasn’t doing well with just vegetables.”

According to Doug Harwood, the family’s real estate agent, the new owners, Zephyr Partners, will not try to increase buildable density of the property. He says the company will build within the city’s current zoning — four ocean-view luxury homes of one acre each.

Unfortunately, the longtime Kiki’s flower stand on the property will need to close shop by the end of the month. And Christmastime’s Ted’s Trees lot will not be up this year; Ted Platis will move his lot to the weekend bazaar lot next to the La Paloma Theatre on Coast Highway. However, the farm’s new owners will allow him to post a sign notifying customers of his new location.

The Fugimotos asked Harwood for a plaque to be placed on the property for the public to read about the history of the family and the farm.

“He was happy to do it,” said Jack Fugimoto.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Live Five: Sitting On Stacy, Matte Blvck, Think X, Hendrix Celebration, Coriander

Alt-ska, dark electro-pop, tributes, and coastal rock in Solana Beach, Little Italy, Pacific Beach
Next Article

Escondido planners nix office building switch to apartments

Not enough open space, not enough closets for Hickory Street plans
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader