Early work is under way on Metro Project at Lawrence, 27 condominiums above 5,000 square feet of stores at the eastern edge of the city’s downtown. Orange-based Newcastle Development is doing the project at Commonwealth and Lawrence avenues. The developer hopes to see a bookstore, coffee house or small offices on the ground floor. No tenants have signed on yet. Underground parking is planned for condo owners and street level spots for the businesses. Commonwealth Development LLC owns the 28,000-square-foot site, which used to be an office building.
An underground parking lot is nearly done and 220 condos are going up near Harbor Boulevard and Chapman Avenue. Chapman Commons is set to include condos and some loft-style townhomes, plus a recreation center, gym and a pool and spa. The local office of Fort Worth, Texas-based D.R. Horton Inc. is developing Chapman Commons. The homes are set to be 1,096 to 1,459 square feet. The site is a few blocks away from the Disneyland Resort.
The Westin South Coast Plaza hotel has finished a three-month, $3 million renovation. The hotel’s bar and lobby were redesigned as part of the project. The 19,000-square-foot Segerstrom executive boardroom was updated with audio-visual gear and other business equipment. “Desk pods” were added to the lobby of the hotel at 686 Anton Blvd.
The City Council is set to consider five condo tower developments on Oct. 17. Last month, the Planning Commission signed off on environmental reports for the projects, which include Segerstrom Town Center,a hotel and condo project on Bristol,and the Orange County Museum of Art, a museum with condos on top planned for the Orange County Performing Arts Center. The others are condo towers planned for Anton Boulevard: The Californian at Town Center, Symphony Towers and Pacific Arts Plaza.
A 100-year-old farmhouse is undergoing a $112,000 renovation to preserve the historic and cultural landmark. The house, originally built by Andrew McNally of Rand McNally & Co., was donated to the city in the 1970s. The site also includes the Miguel Parra Adobe, built around 1860. Now the city leases the site to the Capistrano Indian Council for its headquarters and cultural center. The work should be done by the end of the year.
The 760 South reservoir, a 4 million-gallon steel basin managed by Dexter Wilson Engineering Inc. of Carlsbad, was completed this summer and cost roughly $9 million. Another reservoir, a 6 million-gallon basin managed by Irvine-based RBF Consulting, cost $15 million and should be up and running within a few months. Both reservoirs are set to provide about 70% of the city’s drinking water.
Construction is under way on The Plaza at San Clemente, which is set to be the county’s first mall of outlet stores. The 600,000-square-foot complex, being developed by Newport Beach-based Craig Realty Group and SDC Partners Ltd., also of Newport Beach, is set to have 350,000 square feet of stores, a movie theater, several restaurants and a hotel with conference space. The site is at the San Diego (I-5) Freeway and Avenida Vista Hermosa.
