Plans hint at hip, N.Y. feel for S. Bristol

COSTA MESA ? Restaurants, retail ? and now real estate. The third of those three Rs could soon be added to one of the city’s funkier commercial destinations.

The Costa Mesa planning commission on Monday approved a new blueprint for the Sobeca district, an area that includes unconventional shopping centers the Camp and the Lab. The plan will go to the City Council for consideration April 4.

Patterned on hip New York enclaves SoHo and Tribeca, Sobeca stands for South Bristol Entertainment and Cultural Arts. It’s the product of nearly four years of planning by community members and business owners, with Camp and Lab developer Shaheen Sadeghi taking a leading role.

Costa Mesa’s Westside urban plans have gotten most of the attention recently, probably because they cover a far larger area and have been more controversial. But the Sobeca plan is similar, including lofts, live-work facilities and mixed-use developments that blend commercial and residential spaces.

City officials project that over 20 years, the Sobeca plan could foster creation of 455 new residential units and addition of 171 live-work-related jobs. The 39-acre Sobeca area lies roughly between Baker and Bristol streets and the Corona del Mar Freeway (73).

As condos and lofts get added, the area could lose more than 312 light industrial jobs and more than 143,000 square feet of commercial and light industrial space.

The course of the Sobeca plan has run more smoothly than that of the Westside plans. Sadeghi thinks it’s because the Bristol Street area is already home to retail operations, while much of the Westside has been industrial for years.

“If you really look at the DNA of this area currently, it’s a combination of residential ? both apartments, condos and housing. It is also a mix of light industrial, and also retail as well as office [space],” he said.

An oil change business applying for a permit to open at Bristol Street and Paularino Avenue was what triggered development of the plan, commissioner Bruce Garlich said.

Planning staff members recommended turning down the permit because the oil change shop didn’t fit with the future plans for the area. But at the time, there was no official future plan, Garlich said, so a group of business owners and residents got together and created one.

Officials have stressed that the Sobeca plan as well as the Westside plans allow but don’t compel new development, and that’s a key element to Garlich.

The Sobeca plan “doesn’t disenfranchise anybody that owns property there,” he said.

In addition to the seven specialty restaurants and an eclectic collection of 30-plus retailers Sadeghi has cultivated, his company owns property in the area and would like to acquire more that may eventually be converted to residences. Sadeghi envisions them as extensions of the eco-friendly, artsy atmosphere his businesses have created.

“I think there are a lot of folks out there that are not interested in a traditional environment. They’re not looking for a sort of Irvine planned environment,” he said.

His goal is a pedestrian-oriented area full of art galleries and boutique restaurants ? and with fewer towing companies and tire shops.

“We want it to be the kind of place where you can pick up the Sunday paper and walk down the street to one of our coffeehouses and enjoy coffee,” Sadeghi said.