The forgotten plaza

Two years ago, residents in Mesa del Mar were excited to hear about plans for a housing development that would replace the nearby El Camino Plaza.

The shopping center once housed a thriving market, Country Cousins, with a popular meat counter — John Wayne used to go there, resident John Rittenhouse remembered.

But over the years some stores closed, the center fell into disrepair, and in 2005 the property’s new owners proposed building a small housing development there.

Plans for the property, approved by the city in December 2005, included 24 single-family homes on small lots.

But today the empty plaza remains fenced off and no bulldozers have come.

With city deadlines for the project approaching, some residents are talking about taking matters into their own hands.

The most ambitious suggestion is to buy the property, with members of the Mesa del Mar Homeowners Assn. chipping in the money.

That idea is backed by Katrina Foley, a Costa Mesa city councilwoman and member of the association board.

“The neighborhood should all pitch in on a bond or create an improvement district, buy it, and build a community clubhouse like they have at Halecrest,” Foley wrote in an e-mail this week.

“I’ve asked the city manager to look into what financing tools are available to neighborhoods when developers fall short of expectations and leave a site empty and an eyesore.”

Several attempts to reach the property owners were unsuccessful. Jon Theurich, president of project broker the Oakmark Group, said the owners have worked hard to advance the plans, but they’ve been hampered by a dismal housing market.

“There’s been a tremendous amount of movement and the owners have done a phenomenal job of getting this project entitled,” Theurich said. “They’ve been doing this in a downward-trending market.”

It’s a desirable project and offers from builders have come in, he said, but none has ended in a deal.

That doesn’t surprise Mesa del Mar association board member Scott Steck. He expects the property to sit empty “until the market stabilizes,” which could be at least 2009, he said.

Steck likes Foley’s suggestion of buying the property and making it an amenity for the homeowners.

The city sends code enforcement by daily to make sure trash and graffiti don’t build up, but Steck said he’s heard of break-ins and even a small fire in the vacant center.

It’s not clear what the property is worth — according to First American Title Co., the last sale in 2005 was private, and the price was not disclosed. Theurich said he could not comment on the property’s value.

If residents bought it, they could split the cost among the roughly 850 homes in the tract.

Rittenhouse, who is also on the association board, said if the homes don’t get built he’d like to see a small branch library on the parcel. He said he’d be willing to put up money for the property, but he’s more skeptical that the neighborhood could raise what’s needed.

“I personally don’t think, the way the economy is, we would find enough people willing to step up to the extent they would [need to] to make this happen,” he said.

As to residents making an offer on the property, Theurich said, “The owners would entertain any offer that would be profitable for them,” but, he added, they’ve already invested significant time and “many millions of dollars” into the project and want to protect their interests.

They’ll have to take action soon. City public services director Bill Morris said if a tract map for the project is not formally recorded by Dec. 12 and no deadline extension is granted, the city’s earlier approval of the plans is voided.

Public improvements that are part of the project must be completed by April 2008 or the city will use the owners’ bond, which Morris said is worth about $500,000, to pay for the work.

ALICIA ROBINSON may be reached at (714) 966-4626 or at alicia.robinson@latimes.com.