LAGUNA BEACH
A retail building with office space is going up on Pacific Coast Highway south of Broadway Street. The building replaces a single-story clothing store. Irvine-based Billabong USA had operated the Second Reef shop there selling surf-inspired clothes. Its seven-year lease expired. Randy Hargrave and wife Kathleen own the property. Three years ago, they bought the building, which was put up in 1941, with approvals in place for an upstairs addition. Termite damage forced the Hargraves to raze the building and put up a new frame. The first floor is set to stay a store space. The second-floor will include 800 square feet of office space with two offices, a reception area, bathroom and kitchenette. Construction on the Daniel Martinez-designed South Cape Cod structure began in early August and should be finished early in January. Hargrave and his wife own other housing and commercial real estate in the city.
The city of Laguna Beach is building a community and senior center on Third Street near Broadway Street. The center is 18,994 square feet, with a 26,951-square-foot, partially underground garage. Plans call for conference and meeting rooms, an art studio and exercise room. The city required architects at Irvine’s LPA Inc. to include sustainable design features such as skylights, water efficiency and the use of recycled materials. The Irvine office of San Francisco-based Swinerton Inc. is the general contractor. Griffin Holdings Inc. is the construction manager. The $15.3 million project should be done by January.
SANTA ANA
Three affordable homes are under construction on Logan Street near East Santa Ana Boulevard. The Santa Ana Community Redevelopment Agency is working with nonprofit Taller San Jose and Orange County Community Housing Corp. on the project, set to finish by the end of 2009. Hope Builders Inc. is constructing the homes at a total price of $1.5 million. Architect Kevin Crook donated his services. One home is 1,672 square feet. The other two are 2,015 square feet. Community Housing has built or redeveloped 225 homes in the county. This is the first time it has worked with Taller San Jose.
ORANGE COUNTY
Rite Aid is closer to starting work on a store at a long-empty parcel in an unincorporated part of the county next to Santa Ana. The site at 17th Street and Tustin Avenue has been empty for more than five years. More recently, the lot has housed a sign indicating a Rite Aid is coming soon, with seasonal use by pumpkin patches and Christmas tree lots. A strawberry stand operates nearby in summer. Now Camp Hill, Pa.-based Rite Aid Corp., which has an Irvine office, has a building permit for a 16,743-square-foot store on 1.64 acres. Local sources say the company is awaiting an uptick in the economy before starting construction. The building permit is valued at $1.6 million, according to the county. Chino’s JG Construction is the general contractor. The architect is RHL Design Group in Irvine, part of Canada’s Stantec Inc.
LAGUNA NIGUEL
The Superior Court of California has shut down one of its courthouse facilities to continue an overhaul and expansion. The facility, part of the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach, is at Alicia and Crown Valley parkways. South County’s population growth and more cases have overwhelmed the space in Laguna Niguel. The existing courthouse will remain intact, with a new three-story building connected by corridors. The existing courthouse is 33,000 square feet. The new one will add 228,723 square feet. A parking lot will add 914 spaces. The combined buildings will have 18 courtrooms and offices for the district attorney, public defender and probation department. Construction should start mid-2009 with completion in 2012. The architect is Gkkworks in Irvine. The project is valued at $124 million, funded by the state and county.
SAN CLEMENTE
A commercial building on North El Camino Real is getting a facelift. The building is about a mile from East Avenida Pico. The building itself is 1,350 square feet. Robert King proposed a remodel of the building facade to include canvas awnings, roof modifications, streetscape and landscape improvements. Yielding Construction Inc. is the general contractor.
