Ganahl Lumber gets approval to move, grow

Costa Mesa planning commissioners unanimously approved a new site for Ganahl Lumber on Monday that allows the company to construct a larger facility just north of its current location in the city.

The lumber and hardware store at 1275 S. Bristol St. was permitted to build a new space at 1100 Bristol. The vacant, 6.6-acre commercially zoned property is owned by the county, which, after a competitive bidding process, agreed to lease the land to Ganahl for 63 years.

“We think very long term when we do this, and that’s why this works for us,” said Peter Ganahl, the company’s CEO.

Ganahl Lumber plans to construct four new structures totaling about 106,000 square feet — roughly twice the current space. The largest of the structures, at 65,263 square feet, would include the hardwood store.

Ganahl representatives said the new facility will be more energy efficient and require less maintenance. It will also contain a larger inventory.

The project will have 286 parking spaces, an amount expected to exceed demand.

Ganahl’s plans were met with protests from owners of an office building across the street, at 1027 Bristol. They called the plans “mega” and expressed concerns about increased industrial-scale activity and heavy truck traffic in the area.

“It’s the lumberyard use that we feel is kind of a heavy use that’s not compatible with the office buildings that are located on the south side of Bristol,” said Joe Miller, a representative for the owners of 1027 Bristol.

Ganahl’s new site is expected to add as many as 40 jobs to the 80 from the current site, according to city staff. The current Ganahl site will close upon completion of the new facility in 2016. Construction is scheduled to begin this summer and take around a year to complete.

Ganahl, an Anaheim-based chain founded in 1884, purchased its 1275 S. Bristol St. location in 1998, taking the place of Barr Lumber, which had begun operations there in the 1970s.