San Clemente officials knew exactly what they wanted for North Beach, a swath of downtown land that runs alongside the ocean near the train station.
For a year, officials, businesses and residents went through a “visioning” process to come up with the notion of a Spanish village by the sea.
The city then invited developers to bid on the project, getting about 100 responses. The field was narrowed to two.
Both were evenly matched, said Jim Pechous, principal planner for the city.
“We couldn’t decide,” he said.
In the end, Lab Holding LLC,developer of The Lab and The Camp shopping centers in Costa Mesa,edged out Laguna Hills’ DBN Development LLC with a design that’s low to the ground. San Clemente prefers it that way, Pechous said.
The win is big for Shaheen Sadeghi, owner of Costa Mesa-based Lab Holding with wife Linda, who heads operations.
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The Lab: more sales per square foot than South Coast Plaza, Sadeghi says |
The project is one of a handful Sadeghi is pursuing, along with a $53 million Costa Mesa loft development and a possible artist colony in Tempe.
The efforts are a twist for Sadeghi, known best for developing his quirky shopping centers on Bristol Street.
To free up time for new projects, Sadeghi said he recently formed a management division to handle leasing and management of The Lab and The Camp.
San Clemente’s North Beach moves Sadeghi beyond retail. Plans call for a hotel and shops in a resort setting.
The site’s 75- to 100-room boutique hotel is set to be run by Joie de Vivre Hospitality of San Francisco. Lab Holding plans to own the hotel as well as the rest of the project, which it’ll manage.
The plan for North Beach includes boutiques and a small to midsize conference center aimed at attracting surfwear and other action sports industry meetings.
The project’s cost is $50 million, according to Sadeghi. Construction costs could drive the price up, he said, though the “housing market slowdown will help.”
Sadeghi insists North Beach isn’t a departure from Lab Holding’s funky retail roots.
“It’s not like we’re changing our formula,” he said. “Our engine has been the arts.”
The Lab and The Camp, across the street from each other on Bristol, are plugged into alternative arts and music, hosting art shows and music as a way to promote the centers.
The North Beach project, the Arizona artist colony and the Costa Mesa lofts are similar, Sadeghi said.
Lab Holding counts 10 workers. The company handles its own financing, leasing and property management.
The Lab boasts sales of $1,250 per square foot, more than South Coast Plaza, which does an estimated $850 per square foot. Of course, The Lab is a fraction of the size of its bigger neighbor to the north on Bristol. Lab tenants include the Gypsy Den, Urban Outfitters and Great Laundry.
The Camp, home to stores that sell organic and outdoor goods, started off slow, Sadeghi said. The center was a bit before its time, according to Sadeghi. Last year, interest in organic goods started to take off.
“We were right there,” he said.
The Camp now is 90% full. Stores include Patagonia, Active Ride, Bikram Yoga, Humanitaire and Native Foods.
Bigger malls, including South Coast Plaza and Newport Beach’s Fashion Island, are taking cues from offbeat centers. The big mall operators are adding boutiques to make their centers stand out.
Sadeghi calls his style “vampire leasing”,finding new blood.
A culture shift is under way, according to Sadeghi. The country is adopting some typically European values,environmentally friendly development, smaller, economical autos and “quality consumption,” he said.
Sadeghi said he comes up with ideas by traveling the world. He got the idea for a reflecting pond for North Beach from an Indonesian resort he stayed at.
He said he visits 10 countries a year. He and his family take every summer off. Though he misses deals, he said time with his family is worth it.
“I’m not a workaholic,” he said. “I take a lot of time with my family.”
Costa Mesa Lofts
Near The Lab, Sadeghi plans to build 70 to 100 lofts. Each one is set to be different in design at 1,800 to 2,200 square feet. They’ll cost $600,000 and up.
The lofts are set to include surfboard storage, a garden area, a community art wall and onsite daycare.
They’re set to take up three to four acres of a 39-acre area that Sadeghi’s company has been branding for several years as the SoBeCa district. The name, which still isn’t widely used, stands for South On Bristol Entertainment, Culture and Arts.
The city recently rezoned the area to allow homes alongside businesses. Sadeghi owns 14 acres in the area. The rest is city owned or privately held.
The hardest part about developing the area has been gathering enough land to make something out of it, he said. It’s been a waiting game.
Like The Camp, the loft project will be “green”,using natural materials and developing buildings that are energy efficient.
Loft owners also are set to have access to an electric car. Lofts will have water-stingy double-flush toilets and special glass that keeps the heat out. Green development costs more, but the price keeps coming down, Sadeghi said.
The Tempe project would be Lab Holding’s first outside California, if Sadeghi wins the contract.
Sadeghi is reluctant to say he’ll get it. It’s again down to him and another developer. Sadeghi expects to find out this month if he gets the contract.
As proposed, the artist village is set to include visual and performing arts. Visitors will be able to see art being made and buy it.
“The actual process of making the art is another entertainment factor,” he said.
Plans call for a culinary school, dance and art studios, art galleries and a guitar making school. An amphitheater and homes also are planned.
Sadeghi, a free spirit who once worked alongside Bob McKnight at Huntington Beach-based Quiksilver Inc., is animated about the notion of mixing art and business.
“We’re going through this cultural revival,” he said.
