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.