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.
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