Center looks to become less square

Lolita Harper

This time, it is going to work. Triangle Square will make a comeback,

officials predict.

The concepts are the same, the anchor stores are the same, the

location is the same, but the players are different, said general

manager David Yoon, who represents Triangle Square Investments LLC.

“We have a lot of new team members in response to a review by the

investor ownership,” Yoon said.

Triangle Square, which has struggled since its 1992 opening, has

hired a new managing company, Charles Dunn Real Estate Services, and

new leasing agent, Festival Companies, which has succeeded in finding

tenants for Costa Mesa Courtyards across Harbor Boulevard.

The center also has a new law and accounting firm, Yoon said.

The plan now is to attract “destination” restaurants and build the

center around a fitness theme, he added.

“We believe the new tenant needs to be a destination client,” Yoon

said. “Smaller, fast food restaurants don’t seem to work. People need

to go there on purpose, not just because they have some time, but to

a place where they want to bring their families.”

With longtime tenants Nike Town and General Nutrition Center --

better known as GNC -- and new tenant Nordic Track, officials hope to

cater to active customers, providing them with gear and nutritional

supplements for a variety of different sports.

The downtown center, at the major intersection of Newport

Boulevard and 19th Street at the end of the Costa Mesa Freeway, has

also completed a slight makeover, with new paint and better signs.

Former marketing coordinator Cori Abbs and former property manager

Tom Estes outlined the same course of action for the center more than

a year ago. But all that resulted in were more vacancies and more

internal turnover.

Execution is the difference this time, Yoon said.

“We have a stronger decision-making team that can negotiate

deals,” Yoon said. “Many prior proposals [brought forth by former

property managers CMG] lacked substance, and we couldn’t approve

them.”

Stephanie Demartinis, the center’s operation manager, plans to

work with tenants and the community to make the center succeed, she

said in a release issued to the Pilot.

The release said center officials meet with tenants once a month

to discuss events and with city officials at least twice a month.

Planning Commissioner Bill Perkins said he met with Demartinis

about two weeks ago, after months of getting nowhere. The

conversation was informative and optimistic, but the proof has yet to

be seen, he said.

Mayor Gary Monahan mentioned the troubled center during Monday’s

redevelopment agency meeting. Monahan said the city received numerous

calls from residents about the city’s role in the success of Triangle

Square because that portion of the downtown area was redeveloped

through the use of eminent domain.

The mayor wanted to clarify that although the center was developed

through the city’s redevelopment agency, the city did not operate it.

“They are a private company and we are just as ... well, yeah, I

guess ‘disappointed’ is the word I would use,” Monahan said. “We are

just as disappointed with management as the rest of you.”

Of course, he is supportive of turnaround efforts and anxiously

awaits them, he said later.

Those efforts include various community events where customers are

invited to enjoy live music, artist fairs and vendor exhibits.

Triangle Square has booked live entertainment. Bands Beggars Blues

and Sebastian Sidi played throughout the day Saturday and Sound

Escape played Sunday. The center also has a Farmer’s Market the

second Saturday of each month.

* LOLITA HARPER writes columns Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and

covers culture and the arts. She may be reached at (949) 574-4275 or

by e-mail at lolita.harper@latimes.com.