Shares of Irvine-based California Coastal Communities Inc. rose 8% Friday after the California Coastal Commission on Thursday approved its plans to build homes on a mesa overlooking the Bolsa Chica wetlands in Huntington Beach.
California Coastal’s shares traded around $28, up from yesterday’s close of about $26. The company counts a market value of about of nearly $300 million.
The commission awarded a building permit for 349 homes on 68 acres of the upper bench of the Bolsa Chica mesa. The company said it hopes to begin prepping the land early next year for construction.
Hearthside Homes, a unit of California Coastal, is set to build the homes and a park.
The Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve is undergoing a $65 million restoration.
In February, California Coastal said it earned $3 million in profit in the fourth quarter, up 30% from a year earlier. Sales were up 17% to $39 million.
The company said it sold 62 homes in the fourth quarter, down from 88 a year earlier.
