Featured Projects
McComber Place Development
Beach Boulevard & La Mirada Boulevard, Buena Park, CA
Client: DR Horton
project Site:
Former Big “T” Golf Course
23.4-acre site
Existing Use: Golf Course & Driving Range
Project Description:
16 acres Residential
(117 Single-Family Homes)
(7 Units per Acre)
7.4 acres Commercial
Entitlement Objectives:
- Certification of Environmental Impact Report (EIR)
- Tentative Tract Map
- Site Plan Review
- Conditional Use Permit
- Community Outreach
Results:
Client obtained unanimous approval of all entitlement objectives and project is built.
Pacific Medical Building
1616 & 1640 Newport Boulevard, Costa Mesa, CA
Client: Joe Brown & Associates
project Site:
Pacific Medical Building
4.4-acre site
Existing use: Trailer Parks
Project Description:
4-story Medical Office Building
3-level parking structure
76,500 square-feet
Entitlement Objectives:
- General Plan Amendment
- Zone Change - Retail Service Commercial to Office
- Master Plan Amendment
- Mobile Home Park Conversion Permit
- FAR Increase – from 0.3 to 0.4
- Height Increase – from 2-story to 4-story office
Results:
Client obtained approval of all entitlement objectives.
Meridian
900 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach, CA
Client: Lennar Homes / The New Home Company
project Site:
Former Newport Marriott Tennis Club
4.25-acre site
Existing use: clubhouse and tennis courts
Project Description:
79 luxury condominiums
2,400 – 4,000 sq. ft homes with subterranean parking / Opportunity for highly desired for-sale residential in Newport Center
Entitlement Objectives:
- General Plan Amendment - Administrative/Professional/Financial to Residential
- Zone Change – From Administrative/Professional/Financial to Planned Community
- Local Coastal Plan - Land Use Plan Amendment – from APF to PC
- Waiver to allow PC Text on less than 10-acre site
- Tentative Tract Map / Parcel Map / Site Plan Review
Results:
Client obtained unanimous approval
of all entitlement objectives.
Newport Bay Marina (now Vue Newport)
2300 Newport Boulevard, Newport Beach, CA
Client: ETCO Investments, LLC
Description:
Bayfront mixed use project with 27 residential units, 36,000 sf retail and a reconfigured marina on a former shipyard site
Entitlement Objectives:
Approval by the City of Newport Beach and the Coastal Commission of a site plan, tentative tract map, marina demolition and reconstruction, bulkhead replacement along 485 feet of waterfront, certification of an EIR and approval/issuance of a Coastal Development Permit.
Issues/Challenges:
1. Potential for historical restrictions due to the age of the shipyard and the requirement for a HABS report
2. Complications of marina and bulkhead reconstruction
3. Implementation of mixed use with subterranean parking
4. Proximity to existing restaurants
Scope of Work:
Community issues management, entitlement consulting and project management
Entitlement Schedule:
- GSI work commenced 2005
- City Council approves project 2007
- Coastal Commission approves project and mitigation January 2009 and issues CDP in 2010
Home Ranch
Costa Mesa, CA
Client: C.J. Segerstrom & Sons, Home Ranch
Project Site:
Home Ranch, 93 acres bounded by the 405 fwy to the south, Harbor Blvd. to the west, Fairview Rd. to the east and South Coast Dr.
to the north. The last parcel that remained undeveloped in Costa Mesa, CA
Project Description:
16 acres of Residential 12 du/ac, 45.5 acres Corporate
(791,050 sq. ft.)
17.2 acres Ikea Center
(308,000 sq. ft.)
Strategy:
Develop an approach that would determine the key issues for both the community and City, identify consensus issues and develop messages that could be used on an ongoing basis by the project team with the community and media. The first step was to undertake a community ascertainment. The findings of this community ascertainment, which included interviews with key public officials, city management and planning staff, homeowner groups and business leaders, provided the foundation of the community outreach program and the entitlement strategy. Upon completion of the ascertainment, Government Solutions outline the key issues the community was concerned with and identified key areas of opposition to the Home Ranch project.
Solution:
With the key issues and opposition identified Government Solutions outlined a strategy to communicate to the community, City and media how the project addressed their concerns and to highlight the benefits of Home Ranch. A combination of community meetings, one-on-one meetings with community and City leaders, ongoing communication with the media and targeted community mailings were instrumental in communicating the project's benefits to the City. These benefits included a $2 million endowment to the high schools (education being the number one concern in the City); $8.46 million in traffic improvements paid immediately (as opposed to over the build-out period - responding to the community's desire for immediate solutions to existing and future traffic impacts); $1.7 million annually in increased sales tax revenue to the City; modifying the project to include all owner-occupied single family homes and townhomes consistent with existing zoning (as opposed to high density apartments); preserving the Segerstrom Family Home, Barn and other elements in perpetuity and an endowment for its future maintenance, operation and public access; and campus-style corporate headquarters (as opposed to the current zoning which called for warehouse/manufacturing).
Results:
Costa Mesa City Council approved this project. IKEA is open, the families have moved into the neighborhood,
the Emulex campus is up and running and more office space is on the way.