Costa Mesa to consider converting Mesa Motel into 47 affordable units
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A plan to convert a shuttered Costa Mesa motor inn into 46 units of affordable housing for low-income tenants, a project that’s been eyed by the city for years, will be considered by the Planning Commission in a hearing Monday.
Formerly the site of the Mesa Motel — located at 2205 Harbor Blvd., between Wilson and Victoria streets — the .58-acre property has been vacant since 2022. But that could change if city planners approve a conditional use permit that would allow the work to begin.
The proposal is being put forth by Laguna Niguel-based Ahura Investments, LLC, a firm associated with physician Nikan Khatibi, chief executive and medical director of the Ahura Healthcare Corp., which will serve as the owner and property manager of the site.
It calls for the motel rooms to be rebuilt into a suite of mostly single-occupancy residences that will include sleeping and living accommodations as well as kitchenettes, complete with a refrigerator, prep area, sink and microwave. The site would also include one manager’s unit.
After years of planning, work on Costa Mesa’s first Project Homekey site has begun. The first round of tenants — formerly homeless veterans and those at risk of homelessness — could move in by October.
City leaders have considered the underused parcel as a place that could accommodate affordable housing, going back to at least 2021, when officials sought to acquire, rehabilitate and convert Mesa Motel and a Motel 6 on Newport Boulevard through the state’s Project Homekey program.
While the Motel 6 project was approved for 87 units of permanent supportive housing for at-risk individuals, and subsequently developed at a cost of about $49 million, the Mesa Motel property never moved forward as a Homekey project.
Since then, the city has approved, under the program, the conversion of rooms at the Travelodge by Wyndham Orange County Airport/Costa Mesa, at 1400 Bristol St., into 76 studio and one-bedroom apartments, at the cost of about $48 million.
The aging and underutilized inn at 1400 Bristol St. will offer permanent housing for formerly homeless and at-risk residents, veterans and seniors, as well as on-site support services.
Both those projects are funded through a combination of state grants, city matching funds and earmarks from the county and other sources.
Residents of the Mesa Motel complex would qualify as very-low income, earning about 50% of Orange County’s area median income of $127,800 — amounting to about $50,250 for a single individual, according to figures from the California Department of Housing and Community Development.
Forty-two of the units would be single occupancy, while the other four residences would allow for two occupants. Tenancy would be secured through an annual lease and priority would be given to those living and/or working in Costa Mesa, seniors, veterans and individuals with disabilities, according to a staff report for Monday’s meeting.
The commercially zoned property contains two existing two-story buildings with a total area of 28,286 square feet. The new plan qualifies for a state housing density bonus and, due to its location near transit lines, does not have to conform to Costa Mesa’s parking standards, and includes 27 spaces and one bicycle rack, compared to the 42 stalls that would otherwise be required.
Planning commissioners will consider whether to grant a conditional use permit that would allow the General Business District-zoned parcel to accommodate a use similar to a motel or hotel.
Monday’s Planning Commission meeting starts at 6 p.m. at Costa Mesa City Hall, 77 Fair Drive. For more, visit costamesaca.gov.
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