BREAKING NEWS: Triangle Square plans renovation

Triangle Square, the Costa Mesa mall that has struggled to attract business since opening 15 years ago, is set for a sweeping renovation that would add residential units, demolish its movie theater and seek to make the shopping center a hub of commercial activity on the Westside.

Greenlaw Partners, a Newport Beach-based firm that co-purchased the property last year, announced a plan Friday morning to usher in a new era at Triangle Square. The mall, which opened in 1992, has lost a number of tenants in recent years and weathered charges of mismanagement and poor marketing from the business community.

On Thursday, Greenlaw administrators met with city officials to discuss a preliminary renovation plan, spokeswoman Kelly Foster said. The firm, which owns Triangle Square along with Commonfund Realty Inc., is expected to submit the plan to the city council at a later date. Greenlaw leaders were not available for comment Friday, but said in a news release that they envisioned the improved Triangle Square as a breakthrough for the neighborhood.

“This is a great location in the city,” wrote Principal John Tumminello. “These concepts will provide the right platform and environment for a new mix of tenants, bringing greater vitality to the center and the community. The introduction of residents will increase pedestrian traffic to stores, restaurants and businesses in downtown Costa Mesa and the revised mixture of uses will generate substantially less vehicle traffic than would be generated by the retail areas within the existing Triangle Square.”

The improvements planned for Triangle Square include 120 housing units with a pool, fitness center and lounge, 13 live-work units that would permit business owners to live above their stores, and a redesign of the exteriors and pedestrian walkways. The owners also plan to demolish the Edwards movie theater and approximately 78,500 square feet of retail space.

Foster, who wrote the release along with spokeswoman Jessica Spaulding, said if the city approved the plan, construction could begin as early as next year and wrap in 2010. She did not know when the owners planned to approach the city council.

“It’s still kind of in the first stages,” Foster said.

The mall’s retail space is only 40% occupied, in part due to a number of major tenants departing in recent years. Niketown and Virgin Megastore left the shopping center in 2005, with Barnes & Noble following early in 2006. Other businesses, including the Sutra Lounge nightclub and the Yard House restaurant, have kept afloat over the years.