Romney planning to expand California home

By Glen Johnson, Globe Staff

Mitt Romney is currently in San Diego, attending a series of fund-raisers near his western - and soon-to-be expanded - home.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the Republican presidential contender wants to quadruple the size of his house overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

“Romney has filed an application with the city to bulldoze his 3,009-square-foot, single-story home at 311 Dunemere Drive and replace it with a two-story, 11,062-square-foot structure,” the newspaper reported yesterday. “No date has been set to consider the proposed coastal development and site development permits, which must be approved by the city.”

We’ve previously reported about Romney’s efforts to streamline his real estate portfolio in the aftermath of the 2008 campaign, when then-GOP presidential nominee John McCain was mocked for being unsure about how many houses he and his wife owned.

Romney still owns three - a townhouse in Belmont, Mass.; a vacation home in Wolfeboro, N.H.; and the oceanfront home in La Jolla, Calif. - but the square footage had dropped significantly from 2008.

At that time, the former Massachusetts governor owed a large Colonial in Belmont, the same lake house, and a massive ski house in Deer Valley, Utah.

Romney’s wife, Ann, has made no secret of her love of the West Coast, especially since she can ride her horses there in the winter months. Two of the couple’s sons - Matt and Craig - also live in the San Diego area, while a third, Josh, lives in Utah.

The Union-Tribune story was not the only one this weekend to bring up the idea of a vacation White House, should Romney be elected president next year.

The New Hampshire Union Leader has a story today analyzing the prospect of Wolfeboro playing host to a summer White House.

Among those interviewed are officials from Kennebunkport, Maine, which saw its community changed after summer resident George H.W. Bush was elected presidentin 1988.