Preserving the Past: San Diego Country Estates Sale Office

The San Diego Country Estates Association Facility Maintenance Engineer, Bob Anderson, has worked for the Association since 1973 and worked in the old SDCEA Sales office when it was newly built in 1972. The sales office was used as a Welcome Center for Real Estate in the San Diego Country Estates and as a visitor meet-and-greet spot.

Anderson worked the first water truck at the sales office when he was only 23. He remembers the bright lime-green Volkswagen vans taking clients around the properties to check out the real estate. He adds that the vans had sliding doors, and if the doors didn't shut, they would fall off.

Ray Watt, a developer, sold a lot of model homes. He occasionally drove the vans around and worked with the engines to make them go faster. Watt was a key figure in the initial development of the SDCE, which began in the early 1970s. He is often recognized for his work in transforming the area into a planned community that would attract people interested in country living with access to modern amenities. Anderson worked for the developer of Watt Industries. He also worked for the Good Life Timeshare for 16 years and worked for the Master's Association.

Anderson is also a property manager and a minister. He has been in the Black Canyon Band for 46 years. The band has been together since 1977, and their last gig was for the 4th of July Concerts in the Park series last summer. In addition, his band played as the opening act at Casey Tibbs’s wedding.

Anderson said that after the SDCEA Sales office was closed, many windows were broken, and it became a place for people without a home to sleep. He guesses that the office had been closed for 10 years when it was torn down in December 2024.

Photo of the founding team courtesy of Chuck LeMenager.