The Village, one of the largest redevelopment projects proposed in Santa Ana in recent years, is set for City Council consideration on Tuesday.
Tuesday’s public hearing will be one of the final opportunities for community members to weigh in on the proposal for the aging South Coast Plaza Village property on Sunflower Avenue, which has reached the last stages of city consideration after three years of review.
If approved, its developer, South Coast Plaza and owners the Segerstrom Family, could move forward with plans to transform the 17.2-acre shopping center on the north side of Sunflower into a mixed-use, urban village with nearly 1,600 homes in residential towers that could be built up to 25 stories tall, with retail and commercial space throughout and a plaza park at its center.
Reimagining South Coast Village, built in the 1970s but declining in use in recent years, is part of a broader urban transformation underway at the south end of the city’s Bristol Street corridor, a major entry point for Santa Ana where shopping and culture bring visitors to South Coast Plaza and the Segerstrom Center of the Arts.
Already, Santa Ana leaders have greenlit the 42-acre Related Bristol project to replace the neighboring two shopping centers at Bristol and Sunflower. That two-block development that stretches north to MacArthur Boulevard will feature up to 3,750 residential units, a 250-room hotel, a 200-unit tower for senior living and up to 350,000 square feet of restaurants and shops, as well as a grocery store and 13 acres of park space.
The Village proposal continues the shift from traditional single-home and townhome neighborhoods and car-centric shopping plazas dominated by surface parking, proposing a walkable and bike-friendly community with residential towers and a central commercial area with restaurants, markets and shops, along with public art installations and outdoor spaces for community activities.
“The family wants this development to be timeless and to be something that Santa Ana doesn’t say, ‘Well that looks like it was built in 1973,’” Justin McCusker, who has been representing the developers, said at the recent Planning Commission meeting where the project was unanimously supported.
City leaders have envisioned more dense, mixed-use development of the area around the southern end of Bristol and in recent years made such updates to Santa Ana’s general plans and zoning. But the project isn’t proposing to take advantage of the maximum density allowed, McCusker told planning commissioners.
“This project is incredibly intentional,” he said of the family’s decision to plan a development that was “significantly below” what the city’s zoning for the area would allow. “The project would allow for over 2,100 units, the family is bringing in less than 1,600.”
They are proposing development broken into five phases, with construction taking up to 20 years. Much of the proposed 300,000 square feet of office space would happen in later phases, but a bulk of the 80,000 square feet of retail would be in the first phase. The residential units and proposed 3,439 parking spaces would be developed throughout the phases. The project proposes 7.5 acres of publicly accessible recreational space, with about 3 acres in the first phase.
“The phasing is greatly intentional so the family can make sure it can build a project and deliver it to the city of Santa Ana in a manner that is consistent with the quality,” McCusker said, adding it also allows for reaction to market cycles.
“It’s exciting,” Santa Ana Planning Commission Chair Isuri Ramos said. “It’s going to be pretty impactful because we are a park-poor city, so any new open space is going to be very beneficial.”
No affordable housing units are proposed on-site. Instead, the developers have chosen another available option, paying the city an estimated $7.1 million in inclusionary housing fees, which would support the construction of affordable homes elsewhere in Santa Ana. The payment satisfies the city’s housing policy that requires developers to either set aside a percentage of affordable units or pay an in-lieu fee.
In addition, the city would receive a $9.3 million community benefit payment distributed in four phases. The council would determine how those funds are allocated.
The Planning Commission voted unanimously on Aug. 11 to recommend the council certify the project’s environmental impact report, approve a development agreement with South Coast Plaza and grant the necessary entitlements. That includes a subdivision map dividing the property into six lots and a request to replace the current zoning with a custom zoning plan tailored to The Village.
Two-thirds of the City Council will also need to be on board with overriding the Orange County Airport Land Use Commission, which found the project to be inconsistent with land-use rules around John Wayne Airport.
Concerns have been raised by some residents about the size of the project, if there is enough parking or would it bleed out into the surrounding areas, and about traffic it could create on Bristol and MacArthur. The city has also received letters in support of the project and of thanks for the family’s support of the community over the years.
The 164,049-square-foot South Coast Plaza Village includes longtime tenants Morton’s Steakhouse, Darya Fine Persian Cuisine and a now-closed Regency Theater, which is the only piece across Plaza Drive.
Many tenants have been there for years, said Rick Kim, whose mother owns Grace Tailoring. “We’ve been here for 14 years.”
Talk around redevelopment has lingered for more than a decade as the outdoor plaza has seen fewer businesses and less traffic, said Kim, adding his family has been in contact with South Coast Plaza management, who assured them they would help find a new space.
“We’re not worried,” said Kim. “Our hope is we can stay close and secure a space that’s walking distance within the plaza.”
The Sep. 16 hearing will be the first of two meetings, with a final vote expected on Oct. 7.
Tuesday’s meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. in the Santa Ana Council Chamber at 22 Civic Center Plaza. See more about the project proposal at thevillagesantaana.com.