The owner of seven barbecue restaurants has cleared the space on a five-acre non-profit facility named Resque Ranch.
Phil said his mother rescued stray dogs and ducks when he was a boy, which led to his passion to help horses.
"I hate cruelty. It's tough. It's tough," he said.
Phil has been nursing 14 horses back to health at two off site locations, but the point of his project is to build one ranch to house 30 horses.
Phil plans to grow one thousand trees that will produce 80,000 pounds of avocados a year, and he will also use his vineyard to produce 600 gallons of wine to help pay for the costs.
Horse trainer Sara Blann said it's Phil's huge heart that sets him apart.
According to Phil's sister, Michelle, their mother May Ann is 85-years-old and very ill, and her dying wish is for a rescue ranch to open.
One of the rescued horses survived on its own for 14-years. It was abandoned in Lakeside Field. Another horse was from San Marcos. It was just skin and bones, starved, before Phil rescued it.
Resque Ranch is scheduled to open in late July.
Phil Pace is hoping the community will help support the facility.