Overall, a record of success

Paul Clinton

Earlier this month, the community that has thrived on a string of

blockbuster retail, office and housing projects from C.J. Segerstrom

& Sons turned away the latest project from the storied developer of

South Coast Plaza, Metro Point and Home Ranch.

On April 7, the City Council rejected the Segerstrom’s bid to

install a Kohl’s department store in Mesa Verde Center. The family

has headed back to the drawing board to refashion the project with

its track record of success intact, said John Moorlach, Orange

County’s treasurer and a Mesa Verde resident.

“It was definitely an aberration,” Moorlach said about the Kohl’s

plan. “Overall, their legacy is incredible. ... You cannot complain

about what the Segerstroms have done [for Costa Mesa].”

The former ranchers-turned-developers have faced stiff resistance

before, especially with their 12-year odyssey to develop a former

lima bean field just north of the San Diego Freeway. That project was

downsized twice, first in the 1980s after a voter referendum

overturned a city approval. Finally, persistence paid off: In

November 2001, the council approved a much-less intensive Home Ranch

project that includes an IKEA store.

The Segerstroms also faced resistance on the Standard Pacific

Homes project. The council approved 69 homes in Mesa Verde in 1999

instead of the 97 the Segerstroms had proposed.

A LASTING INFLUENCE

Today, the Segerstrom name carries tremendous weight around town,

even though the family has sold off most of its land holdings. At its

apex, the Segerstroms owned some 2,000 acres in Costa Mesa and Santa

Ana. They now own about 300.

“We have modest land holdings as compared to the large developers

in the county,” said Paul Freeman, the Segerstrom spokesman. “But

what we do have is a disproportionately large impact on the city.”

The city receives an impressive $10 million a year alone from

South Coast Plaza, which by almost any measure is among the most

successful shopping centers in the nation. With more than $1 billion

a year in annual sales, the plaza outsells Rodeo Drive in Beverly

Hills, New York’s Madison Avenue and San Francisco’s Union Square.

Its retail stores include Cartier, Chanel, Saks Fifth Avenue and

Tiffany & Co.

“The Segerstrom family has always focused on quality,” said Debra

Gunn Downing, the plaza’s spokeswoman. “They’ve always brought in the

best of the best.”

In addition to the plaza, the family owns and operates Mesa Verde

Center and Mesa North Center, at Fairview Road and Baker Street.

The Segerstroms are also almost solely responsible for the South

Coast Metro offices, the Orange County Performing Arts Center and

South Coast Repertory. The Offices of South Coast Plaza, as they are

known, include Plaza Tower, Center Tower, Imperial Bank Tower and the

California Bank & Trust Building.

C.J. Segerstrom & Sons also still owns the Lake Center Office

Park, the headquarters for PacifiCare Health Systems; Harbor Gateway

Business Center, the headquarters to FileNet, Apria Healthcare Group

and Emulex Corp.; Whittier Law School, at 3333 Harbor Blvd.; and

National University’s campus, at 3390 Harbor Blvd.

WRONG PLACE, WRONG TIME

Even opponents of the Kohl’s project acknowledge the family’s

success. They say the rejection wasn’t a slight to the family, but

rather the wrong project for Mesa Verde Center.

“They did a phenomenal job at making Kohl’s a sellable project,”

said Councilman Gary Monahan, who voted against it. “But the Kohl’s

was not a fit there. ... It was wrong for the spot.”

The four council members who opposed it -- Councilwoman Libby

Cowan was the sole supporter -- said the project would have created

too much traffic and added another “big box” retailer to a

neighborhood that already has large Home Depot and Target Greatland

stores.

Freeman says the opposition to Kohl’s was “not rational,” since

some opponents called for a skate park, bowling alley or other

recreational use. None of those uses are commercially viable, Freeman

said.

“We are not as powerful as the marketplace,” Freeman said. “Just

wishing that a bowling alley will be successful, that doesn’t mean it

will be.”

Ironically, Kona Lanes announced it would close shortly before the

Kohl’s vote. The Segerstroms has been keeping the bowling alley alive

with rent breaks and other subsidies for several years, Freeman said.

What the future of the center is remains unclear. Councilman Allan

Mansoor said he is keeping an open mind about plans for Mesa Verde

Center, as long as it isn’t a large-scale retailer.

“People expressed to me that they would like to see smaller,

classy venues,” Mansoor said. “People are looking for something that

is special and unique.”

* PAUL CLINTON covers the environment, business and politics. He

may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at

paul.clinton@latimes.com.