Metro district high-density apartments win unanimous Costa Mesa council OK
Hundreds more people are going to be calling Costa Mesa’s South Coast Metro district home under new plans approved Tuesday night.
The City Council unanimously signed off on the Symphony Apartments, a 393-unit complex consisting of two towers about two blocks from South Coast Plaza.
The six-story towers at 585 and 595 Anton Blvd. would replace two vacant restaurant buildings and surface parking lots on a nearly 5-acre lot.
The apartments are a scaled-down version of an earlier development, approved in 2007 but delayed by the recession, that called for 484 condominiums within two high-rise towers.
Symphony Apartments would have one- and two-bedroom units, ranging from 750 square feet to 1,392 square feet. The development also would contain retail space and 731 parking spaces — more than the city requires.
Much of the evening’s sentiment was in favor of a new development coming to the Costa Mesa’s metropolitan district that also contains other high-density apartments, hotels, high-rise office towers, South Coast Repertory and the Segerstrom Center for the Arts.
“We feel this type of product is the right type of product in the right part of the city,” said George Sakioka, whose family company owns the property.
Many attendees were complimentary of Sakioka, grandson of the late Roy Sakioka, a Japanese immigrant who made fortunes in Orange County real estate and farming.
The family still maintains a working farm nearby.
“It is no doubt in my mind that if George puts his name on something, it’s going to be top-flight,” said former councilman and recent council candidate Jay Humphrey.
Humphrey also expressed concern that as Costa Mesa’s population steadily rises because of new developments, there should be corresponding amounts of open space.
“We are steadily losing park space [for a] percentage of our population,” he said.
Paul Sanford, general manager of nearby Avenue of the Arts Wyndham hotel, called Symphony Apartments a “fantastic” project for a neighborhood that needs to continue becoming an urbanized, walkable area.
What’s missing now, he said, is enough residents to make that happen.
Sanford noted that Wyndham hotel guests want the area to bustle with people and feel more urban.
“They don’t want it to feel like downtown L.A. used to feel at 5 o’clock every night, when everyone used to leave,” Sanford said.
Among the concerns raised were affordable-housing options, which were not mandated for Symphony Apartments.
“When are we going to have something to offset for our low-income (residents)?” asked resident Mary Spadoni. “Are these going to be $4,000, $5,000 a month? I wouldn’t be able to live there.”
City officials noted that Symphony Apartments contain more than $6 million worth of on-site amenities, such as pools, spas, clubhouses, exercise rooms and a small dog park.
Although Costa Mesa does not mandate it for new apartment developments, the council implemented a parks fee upon the Sakioka family as a condition of approval. The family’s company will pay an extra $3,000 per apartment, or about $1.2 million, in fees toward city parks.
The council spent several minutes debating the fee, with Mayor Jim Righeimer suggesting it be as high as $13,800 per unit, an amount a developer would pay if the units were single-family homes.
That figure found no support. Councilman Gary Monahan wanted to see it as low as $1,500. After some discussion, the $3,000 fee was approved on a 3-2 vote, with Monahan and Councilwoman Wendy Leece dissenting.
The fee is subject to changes based on an ongoing city study that could lead to the council mandating park fees for apartment developers. In addition, should Symphony Apartments be converted to condominiums, the Sakiokas would not have to pay a fee again.
Construction of the apartments is tentatively scheduled to begin at the end of 2015 and take 18 months.
