New center officials right on Target

Lolita Harper

COSTA MESA -- Caffeine addicts can get their fix at yet another Harbor

Boulevard Starbucks Coffee location as it and a host of other retail

businesses go up at the new Costa Mesa Square.

Driving by the center on Harbor Boulevard at Baker Street, people can

see the “coming soon” signs for the coffee shop and Baja Fresh Mexican

Grill.

Developer Jack Bariteau, the managing partner of the project for

Keenan & Bariteau, said some stores will open in about a week.

Mike Navarro, owner of Radius Retail Advisors -- the company in charge

of leasing the site -- said he expects Starbucks to open first. The Costa

Mesa Square location will be the sixth Starbucks in the city, and the

third in a one-mile stretch of Harbor Boulevard.

Besides attracting the Seattle coffee giant, Navarro said the center

has retained a good balance of local businesses and large national retail

chains. The “good blending” should make the center successful, he said.

All but two storefronts have been leased, which is exceptional given

the current market, Navarro said.

“The fact that we are close to 100% leased before opening is

outstanding,” he said.

Navarro attributed the center’s popularity to its location adjacent to

Target Greatland, which has had great success at the former Fedco site.

While they are owned by separate companies, Costa Mesa Square and Target

Greatland will share easements between them so customers may walk easily

from one to the other.

Bariteau said his company has a good relationship with Target and is

just completing a similar project in Cerritos.

“Target has been very successful and bodes well with what we are

doing,” he said.

City Manager Allan Roeder said he is glad to see Target has done so

well and expects a great project for the rest of the property.

“No offense to Fedco, but this is a far superior, better quality

project than what was there before,” Roeder said.

The new center covers 73,000 square feet of space at the corner and

promises a variety of retailers, including a 25,000-square-foot Henry’s

-- a health food market -- Baskin Robbins and the Furniture Club,

Bariteau said. The center has already leased space to four sit-down

restaurants.

Longtime Costa Mesa business Orange County Pizza will create a

sit-down facility at the new square. The pizza place will pack up its

1,100-square-foot location at 2180 Harbor Blvd. and move to a space

nearly twice the size at Costa Mesa Square, said manager Phoc Nguyen. It

is the first move the restaurant has made since 1974 ,but it was long

overdue, he said.

“Right now, we are in a dead center. Some people call it the old

Lucky’s Center. I just call it a dump,” Nguyen said.

The pizza place deals mostly with delivery and walk-in orders, he

said. Orange County Pizza will open a sit-down pizza parlor in its new

2,000-square-foot spot, offering big-screen televisions and beer, Nguyen

said.

Besides having more space, the new location will be perfect for

attracting foot traffic because it neighbors the successful Target store,

freeways, sports fields and schools, he said.

“We’re hoping to get a lot of little league softball teams,” Nguyen

said.

Orange County Pizza owners were looking for a new location for three

years before they heard about Costa Mesa Square. They had almost signed a

lease for another center when they heard about the upcoming development,

Nguyen said.

“It’s the best location in the city,” he said. “Especially with the

Home Ranch project slated to go in. We hope we’ll get a lot of lunch

business.”

The Mobil station and the credit union on the same corner will remain,

as they are not owned by Keenan & Bariteau. Bariteau said he is in

negotiations to buy the lot where the vacant Arco station is. If

acquired, the lot would add another 7,000 or 8,000 square feet to the

center, he said.