Compiled by Andrea Rangno
ALISO VIEJO
Construction is almost done on a 31,000-square-foot shopping center on Aliso Creek Road, southwest of the San Joaquin Hills (73) Toll Road. The building is set to include a 12,100-square-foot Trader Joe’s grocery store and a Panera Bread bakery. The owner and developer is Aliso Commons Corner LLC. Irvine-based Pierce/Cooley Architects Inc. is the architect. The Trader Joe’s store is the 18th in Orange County for the Monrovia-based company. The project is expected to be complete by the end of the summer.
FULLERTON
Construction has started on a building for several restaurants on Nutwood Avenue near California State University, Fullerton, and the Orange (57) Freeway. The building is set to be divided into four suites totaling 6,319 square feet. The lot used to hold a large Indian restaurant that burned down in 2007. The current owner is University Plaza Ltd. The architect for the project is Orange-based DSE Architecture Inc. Construction is scheduled to be done by the end of the year.
A building on Chapman Avenue near North Harbor Boulevard is being remade as a food court. The 6,000-square-foot building previously was used for medical offices and is being remodeled in a 1960s design to house five restaurants, including a Chronic Tacos run by Costa Mesa’s Chronic Taco Enterprises Inc. The food court is named The Grind and is within the city’s downturn hub of restaurants and bars. Fullerton-based Vanguard Investment Properties is the developer. Steve Lynch is the general contractor. The architect is Fullerton’s Crane Architecture. The Grind is expected to open in the fall.
COSTA MESA
An In-N-Out Burger is planned on Harbor Boulevard, just southwest of the Costa Mesa (I-405) Freeway. Irvine-based In-N-Out Burgers Inc. is set to open the restaurant where Kaplan’s Deli formerly stood, before its closure in 2005. The 6,600-square-foot building now on the site is set to be razed to make way for the 3,265-square-foot In-N-Out. The project was approved last month by the City Council and specific building plans are being reviewed. The architect is Doug Couper of Irvine-based GreenbergFarrow.
TUSTIN
Tustin High School, on El Camino Real just north of the Santa Ana (I-5) Freeway, is renovating its quad. The renovation is part of the Measure G bond passed in 2002 that allocated $80 million to renovate the 20 oldest schools in the Tustin Unified School District. The 26,300-square-foot project is slated to cost $1.5 million and will feature a 50-foot bell tower, a covered stage and a patio for students. The school also will be renovating its entryway and the walkway on the east side of campus. The architect for the project is NTD Architecture. San Diego-based Barnhart Construction Inc. is the construction company. The renovation is expected to be finished in the fall.
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO
Multiple city improvement projects are scheduled to begin this month, including street upgrades at Del Obispo Street and Camino Capistrano. Plans call for widening Del Obispo, removing medians and the addition of more turn lanes. The city hopes the improvements will ease traffic. Portions of the sidewalk along Del Obispo also will be rebuilt in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Similar work is scheduled to begin in October for the intersection of Junipero Serra Road and Rancho Viejo Road. The city also has retained architect Roy Nunn to build five bus shelters at its five highest ridership stops. The project is slated to cost $350,000 and is partially funded by a state grant.
