Costa Mesa Ca Development And Redevelopment

Residents are calling City Hall about it. Gossiping about it over lunch. Gawking at it as they drive by. Triangle Square--that mega-commercial complex plopped in the middle of town and touted as the savior of recession- and construction-strangled downtown--has everyone talking. Just look at it, people say. You'll see what we mean. First the Gap sign went up; then it came down. Alpha Beta announced an August opening, but there wasn't a shopping cart in sight.

After a nasty feud with Costa Mesa officials, business owners along 17th Street succeeded in stopping a plan to widen the road--even though it meant that the city turned down nearly $5 million in county transportation grants. The money would have been used to add more lanes to the street, which the business owners likened to making Rodeo Drive into a freeway.

Developers are proposing that the Costa Mesa Motor Inn be converted to housing for the working poor or senior citizens. The motel's owner, the federal Resolution Trust Corp., will consider a recommendation from the City Council in deciding to whom the land should be sold, City Manager Allan L. Roeder said. Developers Merrill Butler III and John Whelan of Whelan Development Co. presented their plans to convert the building at a City Council study session Monday.

The 93 acres of lima bean fields are one of the last reminders of Orange County's agricultural past. Soon, they may give way to its future: shops and office space. The Costa Mesa City Council later this month will take up the fate of the so-called Home Ranch, the last undeveloped parcel in the city owned by the Segerstrom family, which has been responsible for developing much of the area's skyline.

Apartment owners affected by the city's new General Plan will have to wait another month to learn the fate of their properties, the City Council has decided. At its meeting Monday, the council delayed action until December on a controversial proposal designed to bring relief to hundreds of apartment owners whose property was rezoned when the General Plan was adopted in 1990. In an effort to keep development in check, the rezoning reduced the maximum number of units per complex.

Whittier Law School will open its new campus here in August 1997 on 15 acres on the southwest corner of Harbor Boulevard and Sunflower Avenue, school officials announced Tuesday. The institution is buying the commercial site with buildings from C.J. Segerstrom & Sons and will renovate them in time to relocate there and welcome the class entering in 1997.

A county plan to convert an abandoned restaurant near John Wayne Airport into airport administrative offices will be considered tonight by the City Council. According to city officials, the county is currently in the process of purchasing RW's Crab Hideout, also known as McCormick's Landing, at 3180 Airway Ave. Because the property is within city limits, the county must win council approval before the project can advance.

The city has two goals for congested Newport Boulevard: improve traffic flow from 19th Street to 17th Street and attract more shoppers to the area north of 19th. Though formal plans are not in place, the City Council this week listened to a report on how to improve access north of 19th Street. Officials may consider reducing clutter from signs and adding better sidewalks and landscaping to the retail strip that declined after construction of the Costa Mesa Freeway.

The Planning Commission voted Monday to wait for a traffic study before approving a 90-home development in the city's Mesa Verde neighborhood. Residents told the commission the Pacific Standard project on Mesa Verde Drive would flood the neighborhood with cars and restrict their foot access to the neighboring shopping center. City planners said in a report that the project conformed with area standards.

The 93 acres of lima bean fields are one of the last reminders of Orange County's agricultural past. Soon, they may give way to its future: shops and office space. The Costa Mesa City Council later this month will take up the fate of Home Ranch, the last undeveloped parcel in the city owned by the Segerstrom family, responsible for developing much of the area's skyline. The property is bounded by Sunflower Avenue, the San Diego Freeway, Fairview Road and Harbor Boulevard.

Wohl Investment Co. of Irvine will begin a $12-million rehabilitation this week of a retail center occupying a block of 17th Street in Costa Mesa between Santa Ana and Westminster avenues. Formerly known as Hillgren Square, the 60,000-square-foot center will be renamed 17th Street Promenade and will be "aimed at serving the upscale demographics of the area," said Peter Desforges, president of Wohl.

After three years of debating where to build a skate park, Costa Mesa decided to put it three places. A $6,000 portable structure for skateboarding will be shuffled among three parks, giving kids from across the city a chance to show their stuff. City officials hope the temporary solution will buy them time as they continue to search for a permanent site while easing concerns of residents who fear a skate park will attract crime and noise.

To hear many homeowners on Costa Mesa's Westside tell it, their beaten-down industrial neighborhood is ripe to become the next hot Orange County coastal address. It has ocean breezes, luxury shopping nearby and new folks moving in, spending big money to fix up their homes. The stumbling block, they complain, are old, drab, overcrowded rental units--home to many of the area's low-wage workers.

Isamu Noguchi wanted his California Scenario sculpture garden to inspire thought. It has. The award-winning artist's garden of stones, trees and waterfalls, tucked behind an El Torito Grill on Anton Boulevard in Costa Mesa, is at the center of a running debate between city officials and a developer of a proposed cultural arts district that would include a symphony hall, restaurants and office buildings next to the 19-year-old garden.

Famed artist Isamu Noguchi wanted his California Scenario outdoor sculpture garden to inspire thought. It has. The award-winning artist's garden of stones, trees and waterfalls, behind an El Torito Grill on Anton Boulevard in Costa Mesa, is at the center of a running debate between city officials and a developer of a proposed cultural arts district complete with a new symphony hall, restaurants and office buildings next to the 19-year-old garden.

The Planning Commission unanimously approved a request this week to expand a restaurant at South Coast Plaza. If the City Council approves the project, South Coast Plaza will be allowed to increase a vacant restaurant space to 662 square feet and reduce its outdoor dining patio by 172 square feet to make room for Z'tejas Grill, a new Southwestern cuisine restaurant with a bar. The restaurant space was previously occupied by Piret's.

South Coast Repertory's leaders broke two years of silence about their expansion plans Tuesday, announcing that they aim to open a 336-seat theater in October 2002. A drive to raise $40 million for the addition and other new programs is more than halfway home, with $22.6 million raised to date. The campaign's success will "fulfill the artistic potential of SCR . . .