Developers are counting on Costa Mesa’s ritzy restaurant, shopping and arts center to draw homebuyers to several high-rise condominium projects planned within walking distance of South Coast Plaza.
Six projects with nine condominium towers have been proposed for the heart of Costa Mesa.
Developers of the projects, which total about 1,500 condos, are in the process of seeking city approval. Some are expected to start as early as this year.
The tallest of the buildings could go as high as 30 stories, or 315 feet above ground level,the height of Orange County’s tallest building, the Center Tower in Costa Mesa.
Costa Mesa’s planning department is working on one environmental impact report for five of the proposed projects. It hopes to have the $425,000 study completed by June.
|
|
Fifield’s proposed towers: 250 condos planned at 580 Anton Blvd. |
The first project set to break ground will be a two-tower, 250-condo development by the Irvine office of developer Fifield Co. Work could start late this year.
The Fifield towers are expected to take two years to build. They are set for 580 Anton Blvd. at the corner of Anton and Avenue of the Arts.
The towers could go up to 25 stories, said Timothy O’Brien, who heads West Coast operations for Chicago-based Fifield.
Most of the projects will be built from the ground up. But the latest entrant to the area’s high-rise development offers a different plan.
Newport Beach-based Makar Properties LLC has plans to convert part of the 238-room Wyndham Orange County to condos, according to a preliminary plan filed with Costa Mesa.
Makar bought the hotel in late March for a reported $42 million.
At the time of the sale, Makar owner Paul Makarechian said the company’s plan was to “redesign and relaunch” the hotel, which was built in 1984.
Makar is working on plans to reduce the number of rooms at the upscale hotel by nearly 40 to 200. It would add as many as 120 condo units, according to Costa Mesa planners.
The revamped building would be higher than the existing six-story hotel.
Makar hasn’t disclosed when it plans to start its project. The Wyndham development wouldn’t start for several years, city officials said.
It’s believed that Wyndham’s hotel management agreement with Makar runs for a couple more years.
Makar declined to comment on its condo conversion plan.
Crowded Field
Makar, developer of the 400-room St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort & Spa in Dana Point, is set to join the cast of developers eyeing high-rise homes in the same part of Costa Mesa.
Other companies include Fifield, Maguire Properties Inc., J.K. Sakioka Co. and C.J. Segerstrom & Sons.
City officials and developers believe Costa Mesa’s retail and arts make it an attractive area to rival residential tower projects going up or planned for Irvine, Santa Ana and Anaheim.
“We already have the urban core, all that’s missing is the residential,” said Dave Lamm, Costa Mesa’s deputy city manager.
Segerstrom’s South Coast Plaza is one of the country’s biggest shopping centers by sales, pulling in more than $1 billion annually.
The theater and arts district, meanwhile, is putting the finishing touches on a $50 million Ren & #233;e & Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall at the Orange County Performing Arts Center.
This part of Costa Mesa “has arts, restaurants, spas, and shopping,that’s what people are looking for in a high-rise site,” Fifield’s O’Brien said.
Fifield has lined up the financing for its project. The company is working with CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. on marketing plans. Presales for its condos could begin by the summer, O’Brien said.
Homes at the Fifield project will go for more than some projects in Irvine, he said. Units at Bosa Devel-opment Corp.’s twin towers at Park Place were sold at $600,000 and more. Condo prices at Opus West Corp.’s The Plaza-Irvine towers down Jamboree Road started at $500,000.
Second out of the ground could be a development at the southeastern corner of Anton Boulevard and Avenue of the Arts, led by Santa Ana’s J.K. Sakioka.
The Symphony Towers project at 585 Anton Blvd. would include two high-rises in the 20-story range, as well as two shorter buildings, about six stories. The project would total 484 condos.
Two restaurants at the site would need to be demolished before construction starts.
Another project has been proposed by Los Angeles-based Maguire at 675 Anton Blvd. There the company owns an 826,000-square-foot office campus, Pacific Arts Plaza, which is entitled for another 400,000 square feet of office space.
Plans are under way for converting that 18-story office entitlement into residential space. The site could include as many as 300 condos in one tower.
It’s likely that Maguire would sell its development rights, or build the condo project with a venture partner, said Bill Flaherty, senior vice president of leasing and marketing for Maguire.
“We are not a residential developer,” Flaherty said.
Maguire last year sold a part of its Park Place complex in Irvine to Canada’s Bosa for $40 million. Bosa is planning four condo towers at Park Place that could start construction in the summer.
Also on the books: C.J. Segerstrom is planning a two-building development just east of South Coast Plaza at 3400 Bristol St.
The Segerstrom high-rise could have as many as 225 condos. Another 50 condos would be built on top of a proposed 200-room hotel in a second tower, according to plans filed with the city.
Meanwhile, the Orange County Performing Arts Center is considering adding 80 condos to the top of an undeveloped building at 605 Town Center Drive. The site also is set to be home to the Orange County Museum of Art.
Group Planning
The environmental impact report for the first five projects is being handled all at once by Costa Mesa’s planning department to save money and make the process more efficient, Lamm said.
“We went to (Maguire Properties Chief Executive) Rob Maguire’s office and said ‘We will handle this for you,'” Lamm said. “He was amazed. He said that we were the first city to come to him for something like this.”
Beyond the environmental study, approval also is needed from Costa Mesa’s City Council, which is expected to take up the issue in a month or two.
The Federal Aviation Administration, which has been slow to approve other high-rise office and residential projects near John Wayne Airport, also needs to sign off on the Costa Mesa tower plans.
