The $90 million, 26-acre South Coast Home Furnishings Centre in Costa Mesa is well on its way to a planned July opening.
The center, about a mile north of South Coast Plaza near Ikea, is about 75% leased already, according to Irvine-based developer Birtcher Development & Investments LLC.
The center is designed for furniture and home accessories showrooms in a mall setting,food court and all. It’s set to be landscaped with space for people to walk around and look at the water fountain, argue about the color of their new living room set, or sit on a bench and debate bathroom fixtures over coffee. Tenants include C.S. Wo, a Hawaiian furniture company, NW Rugs, Office Furniture Gallery, Faucets Galore and Flexa.
Faucets Galore just opened its first store at Bella Terra in Huntington Beach. Other center tenants: Wickes Furniture, Banner Mattress, La-Z-Boy, Creative Leather, Salmo’s Furniture and Munro’s Furniture.
Interior Surroundings, an upscale contemporary furniture store at The Market Place in Tustin, will be leaving at the end of its lease early next year and moving to the South Coast Home Furnishings Centre.
The center, in the works for three years, is looking for a few other tenants, said Bjorn Davidson, development manager for Birtcher.
On its hit list,a baby furniture store, a patio furniture store and a home entertainment store. Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services Inc. is handling leasing.
So far, Great Steak and Potato Co., Samurai Sam’s Teriyaki Grill and TacoTime, all owned by Scottsdale-based Kahala Corp., have signed on at the food court. Others are pending.
For C.S. Wo, the Costa Mesa store will be its first on the mainland. It has 17 stores in Hawaii.
The chain, one of Hawaii’s largest retailers, plans to take up 18,000 square feet. C.S. Wo sells European, Asian, Californian and Mediterranean styles.
NW Rugs, a 20,267-square-foot store, sells rugs in all shapes, sizes and design, as well as leather furniture and accessories.
Office Furniture Gallery, based in Westminster, sells office desks, chairs, filing cabinets and other furniture. Its store will be 4,000 square feet.
LA Carpet sells carpet, wood and tile floorings. It’s taking 2,700 square feet.
Denmark’s Flexa, a 3,000-square-foot store, sells children’s adjustable furniture.
This is Birtcher’s first shopping center geared toward homeowners in Orange County. Owner Brandon Birtcher did a similar project in OC, the Design Center in Laguna Niguel, which is geared toward designers.
The company also developed design centers in Los Angeles and Dallas. The business was started by Birtcher’s great-grandfather, Justus Birtcher, in 1939.
South Coast Nods
South Coast Plaza won an “Official Honoree” Webby Award for its Web site, southcoastplaza.com, designed by the shopping center’s marketing team and Long Beach-based Visualade Inc.
The honorees, as opposed to the actual winners, are given to sites that meet Webby standards. The 10th Annual Webbys handed out official honoree awards to fewer than 20% of its 5,500 or so entries. The International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences chooses the sites. Webby Awards was founded in 1996.
South Coast Plaza also won the International Council of Shopping Centers’ Maxi Award for its Festival of Children 2005 marketing program.
The annual month-long event held in September helps to raise awareness for children’s charities and arts programs. Sandy Segerstrom Daniels founded the festival.
Fashion Island News
Martin + Osa opened last week at Fashion Island.
The store, part of American Eagle Outfitters Inc., gave all sales from women’s apparel on Oct. 20 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
Charriol, a Swiss jewelry and watch boutique, also opened at Fashion Island. The company is named for French designer Philippe Charriol.
Trendy Maternity Online
Xpecting Maternity, the trendy mom-to-be shop on East 17th Street in Costa Mesa, now is online at xpectingmaternity.com.
Newport Lexus
By now you’ve heard Newport Lexus is the latest luxury dealer in town.
The $75 million dealership on the corner of MacArthur Boulevard and Jamboree Road held its official grand opening last week and premiered the new Lexus 2007 LS460, a full-size luxury sedan that sells for about $56,000.
Newport Lexus may be making a dent in the local luxury market, at least if August new car registrations are any indicator. Lexus surpassed Mercedes-Benz for the month, with 984 registrations vs. Mercedes-Benz, with 906 autos. BMW had 672.
Newport opened in July with as many amenities as some hotels: boutique shopping at Tommy Bahama or for Oakley shades, a gigantic showroom with a grand piano, an espresso bar with goodies from Antonello’s Ristorante, concierge, flat-panel TVs (even in the bathrooms) and two fireplaces.
The dealership is seeking out a vendor to provide spa and workout amenities.
