Ikea close to starting building
Lolita Harper
Tangible changes to the former lima bean farms at the north end of
the city are imminent as city building officials issued construction
permits Friday afternoon to the Ikea home furnishings store that will
be the centerpiece of the Home Ranch development.
Ikea representatives took out building permits Friday afternoon,
completing the final step of the process that included satisfying
building and fire codes and paying $98,745 in fees, said city
building official Rick Brown.
“We’ve looked at this for two years,” Brown said. “We are more
than ready to get it out the door and ready for construction.”
Ikea officials are also anxious to get underway. Don Collins, the
Costa Mesa Ikea Project Manager, said the company will begin
construction of its flagship furniture store -- slated to be twice as
big as the existing Tustin location -- as soon possible.
“We are happy that the entitlement and permitting process is
pretty much over and we are moving forward with construction at an
accelerated pace,” Collins said. “It’s been a long process but in
terms of movement, we are now moving quite quickly.”
The 308,000-square foot store will be built on the southwest
portion 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. Collins said
he expects the store to be open by late spring of 2003.
The Costa Mesa Ikea will house three eateries, professional design
consultants and a supervised children’s play center, which includes a
learning center, Collins said. It will also boast three full-home
floor models representing both houses and apartments.
Ikea construction marks the end of a 19-year battle to develop the
site and the beginning of the Home Ranch metamorphosis from
historical farmland to imminent development. The 93-acre project
boasts a mix of retail, office, industrial and residential use and
generated a considerable amount of opposition during the approval
process.
Opponents to the project said the biggest problem with Ikea is the
amount of traffic it will generate. Fees received Friday from Ikea in
conjunction with the $8.6 million from developer C.J. Segerstrom &
Sons Thursday, are designated to fund traffic improvements to
accommodate the predicted increase in cars.
Residents were also worried that the store’s traditional colors --
bright blue and yellow -- would be an eyesore.
When negotiating with the city, 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.
Some of the project’s most vocal opponents could not be reached
for comment at press time Friday.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.