RANCHO SANTA FE, CA—Cielo Del Norte LLC has sold Cielo Del Norte, 242 acres located southeast of Elfin Forest Rd. and Harmony Grove Rd. here for $13 million to Escondido Creek Conservancy. The property was originally approved for a 77-lot residential development but will be designated open space as a part of the Escondido Creek Conservancy.

“This property will remain in pristine condition as open space in perpetuity. It is truly an honor to be a part of conserving beautiful sites like Cielo De Norte in their natural state,” said Ciara Trujillo, vice president at Colliers International. Trujillo, David Santistevan, and Gunder Creager of Colliers' San Diego Land Team represented the seller, while Ann Van Leer of Land Conservation Brokerage represented the buyer. The mission of the Escondido Creek Conservancy is to protect and restore the Escondido Creek watershed, a 26-mile creek that forms at Lake Wohlford and meets the Pacific Ocean at the San Elijo Lagoon.

Cielo Del Norte is located just north of Cielo, a 1,740-acre private community with more than 528 luxury homes and 60% open space, where Colliers International's San Diego Land Team has sold more than 75 lots to some of Southern California's top homebuilders including Taylor Morrison and California West Communities among others. Also located nearby is the Lusardi Creek Preserve, which the San Diego Land Team sold 31 acres of privately owned land to the County of San Diego to expand the preserve in 2013.