3 major projects still ahead

Jennifer Kho

The opening of South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa about 35 years ago

marked the beginning of a major change for the Segerstrom family.

The main thrust of the family’s work shifted from farming to

development, said Nolene Sherman, records manager for the company.

Now, with most of the family’s land developed, management duties are

taking up a greater part of the family’s attention than ever before. That

doesn’t mean, however, that there aren’t bigger and better things on the

horizon.

“Some of the things coming in the future may be bigger than the things

we’ve accomplished in the past,” said family patriarch Henry Segerstrom.

“The properties we have, for the most part, have been in the family

for many, many years. We feel a great responsibility to the community to

develop those properties in a manner that will benefit the quality of

life and match the way we live.”

Here are the projects proposed for some of C.J. Segerstrom & Sons’

last undeveloped properties:

TOWN CENTER

The project includes land owned by C.J. Segerstrom & Sons, the Orange

County Performing Arts Center (donated by Segerstrom & Sons) and

Commonwealth Partners LLC (sold by Segerstrom).

The conceptual plans envision a cultural arts district with classy

artwork covering up the service bays and back ends of businesses on

Avenue of the Arts, first-class restaurants and a “building without

walls” glass design that would expose the Naguchi Californian Sculpture

Garden.

The landowners agree they want to make the district a

pedestrian-friendly area where people can walk from offices to shops,

seeing public art and open space on the way, go to a restaurant and see a

theatrical performance.

The plans include a new concert hall, expansion of South Coast

Repertory Theater, an undecided additional arts center, restaurants, an

improved parking area and office space.

A new hotel at Anton Avenue at Bristol Street is also being discussed,

but Scott’s Seafood Bar and Grill has a long-term lease and will not be

displaced, said Paul Freeman, a Segerstrom spokesman.

Robin Leffler of Costa Mesa said she thinks it is important that north

Costa Mesa developments are considered as a whole.

“It’s critical people realize that the quality of life in Costa Mesa

is going to be affected by all the developments,” she said.

MESA VERDE

In August, the Costa Mesa City Council approved a 12-acre development

by home builder Standard Pacific Corp. at 1645 Adams Ave.

The Mesa Verde project includes 69 two-story homes on lots averaging

5,000 square feet.

The Costa Mesa developer reduced the number of homes proposed from 90

to 69 after the City Council rejected the initial plan last spring.

Some residents who spoke at the meeting said the reductions were not

enough, but several spoke in favor of the development.

Freeman said the development is a good example of the Segerstrom

family’s deference and sensitivity to the community’s wishes.

HOME RANCH

Segerstrom’s Home Ranch proposal, a 90-acre project originally

scheduled for Planning Commission review in June, was redesigned but a

public hearing has not been scheduled.

“This is it for us,” Freeman said. “This is the last phase in Costa

Mesa and it’s simpatico with Costa Mesa sensibilities.”

The proposal includes not only Home Ranch but also a piece of land

called the “North 40,” which is actually about 31 acres on parcels north

of the Home Ranch site.

The modified proposal for the site, a lima bean farm bordered by the

San Diego Freeway, Fairview Road, Harbor Boulevard and Sunflower Avenue,

calls for a 17-acre Ikea furniture store, 950,000 square feet of office

space and more than 900 homes.

A draft environmental impact report on the revised plans must be

completed before the Planning Commission can review the proposal, and the

amount of time it will take to create the report has not been determined,

according to a city staff report. The proposal will be put on the agenda

after the schedule for the environmental report is refined.

Part of the land will be sold to Ikea, but the Segerstrom family

probably will keep some of the property for historical reasons, Sherman

said. The Segerstroms still have a home on the site, although no family

members live there.

Sandy Genis, a Mesa Verde resident and former mayor of Costa Mesa,

said she is disappointed with the plan, even after the revisions.

The plan, combined with other area projects, will cause nearly as much

traffic as the high-rise plans for the property that were defeated in a

1998 referendum, she said.

“It’s important to limit traffic so people can get to their houses, to

the grocery store and to their jobs and so that road rage isn’t a fact of

life every day,” she said.

Genis said she also is concerned about the balance between jobs and

housing.