Ideal fit for Costa Mesa or huge traffic magnet?

Lolita Harper

Depending on whom you talk to, the Ikea portion of the Home Ranch

project proposal will bring in one of two things: a big-box retailer with

lots of traffic or a responsible corporation that’s a good neighbor.

Ikea officials are looking to move to a parcel of the Segerstrom lima

bean farm -- bordered by the San Diego Freeway, Harbor Boulevard, South

Coast Drive and what could be the expanded Susan Street, complete with a

freeway offramp -- to accommodate twice as much space as its Tustin

location. The furniture store would move into a 308,000-square-foot

retail building, complete with three full-home floor models representing

both houses and apartments.

The furniture company touts more than 162 stores in 30 countries, with

15 stores in the United States. Almost half of the Ikea stores in the

nation are in California. The retailer opened its first Southern

California store in Burbank.

Burbank City Manager Bud Ovrom said his city took a gamble about eight

years ago on what was then a relatively new company. Because it was the

first store in the region, Ovrom said he had no model to judge Ikea’s

earning capabilities.

“We didn’t even know how to pronounce the name,” Ovrom said.

Burbank has never had a problem with the Swedish retailer, Ovrom said.

Traffic and parking predictions were accurate and dealt with, and Ikea

has complied with all maintenance and landscaping requirements, he said.

He called the decision to work with them “an absolute home run.”

The only aspect that was not foreseen was the large amount of people

the store draws, he said. Ovrom said ZIP Code studies have shown the Ikea

store brings in a much greater crowd than was expected.

“People drive tremendous distances from all over,” Ovrom said.

While Ovrom considers the out-of-town customers a testament to the

store’s success, his praise of the store directly contradicts predictions

from Ikea officials.

The Costa Mesa Ikea is proposed to be much larger than the Burbank

store, complete with three eateries, professional design consultants and

a supervised children’s play center, which includes a learning center,

said Costa Mesa Ikea Project Manager Don Collins.

Collins has said he does not believe the furniture store will draw

customers from outside of its suspected market area, which has a 15-mile

radius.

“They will go to their own Ikea,” Collins said.

Opponents to the project say the biggest problem with Ikea is the

amount of traffic it will generate. Many residents look to the Ikea store

in Emeryville, near San Francisco. There a four-story parking structure

was built to accommodate the additional number of cars, and residents

wonder if the same problem could happen here.

Collins said the comparison of the two is like apples and oranges. The

Emeryville store is the only Ikea store in its region, he said, unlike

the Costa Mesa store, which would be surrounded by four other Southern

California Ikea stores. Ikea officials have also proposed double the

amount of maximum parking spaces required by the city to address any

potential parking problems.

Another complaint voiced by some residents is the color scheme the

furniture store uses. People say the bright blue and yellow stores in

other cities did not fit in Costa Mesa.

Ovrom said some Burbank residents also complained about the bright

yellow and blue colors of the store, but Ikea officials said that aspect

of the project was not negotiable, he said.

When negotiating with Costa Mesa, Ikea officials agreed to reduce the

bright blue exterior by an average of nearly 70%. Plans call for patches

of the store to be muted with glass in some areas and gray paint in

others, while the freeway-facing storefront would retain most of the

store’s traditional colors.

To sweeten the deal, Collins said Ikea will grant gift certificates

ranging from $6,000 to $8,000 for Costa Mesa elementary schools and

$10,000 to $12,000 for middle and high schools, so school officials can

furnish libraries, front lobbies and other areas of the school.

This was offered “to demonstrate Ikea is a good corporate citizen,”

Collins said.