One Metro West Eyes ’24 Construction Start
via Orange County Business Journal
The ball is rolling for Costa Mesa’s One Metro West, a long-awaited 16-acre mixed-use project that received approval two years ago after facing pushback and legal challenges from the community.
Rendering of Costa Mesa’s One Metro West: a 16-acre multifamily project with over 1,000 apartments
The development, headed by Beverly Hills-based Rose Equities, is set to break ground either late 2024 or first quarter of 2025, company officials tell the Business Journal.
One Metro West, located just north of the San Diego (405) Freeway, calls for more than 1,000 rental units, 6,000 square feet of specialty retail space and 25,000 square feet of creative office and recreational uses.
Multifamily developer Garden Communities CA of San Diego bought the lot last month from Joe Wen, through a joint venture with Rose Equities. Together they paid $72 million, according to property records. The buyer took out a $45 million loan with U.S. Bank to fund the deal, records indicate. The deal, among the larger land buys in the Costa Mesa in recent years, works out to a price of about $4.5 million per acre.
The deal marks a rare area sale of late for Formosa Ltd. owner and Newport Coast resident Wen, who has paid $67 million to buy discounted office towers in Huntington Beach and South Coast Metro this year.
Recent Changes
While One Metro West's big picture plans have remained largely intact since its initial proposal, some tweaks have been made in the wake of the pandemic.
"We want to take into account what's happened over past six years," Rose Equities Principal Leonard Glickman told the Business Journal. That means increasing the size of One Metro West's apartments from about 940 square feet to 1,100 square feet. "Six years ago, when we devised the plans, 940 square feet was big," Glickman said. That perception has since changed partly due to today's larger remote workforce.
"Bigger units mean more space, which means better quality of life," he added. Rose Equities expects all of One Metro West to deliver by 2034.
NFL Ties
The 16-acre site at 1683 Sunflower Ave. currently houses a 345,000-square-foot industrial building partly occupied by Robinson Pharma Inc. in a lease that runs through next October, at which point Rose Equities plans to begin construction.
Rose Equities is a 70-year partner of Garden Communities, which is owned by the Wilf family, whose affiliated companies reportedly own more than 90,000 apartment units and numerous commercial properties across the country, including new developments near John Wayne Airport in Irvine. The family's best-known member is Zygi Wilf, owner of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings.
22- Vote Victory
One Metro West is the only project to pass under an old city law that required certain Costa Mesa developments to receive voter approval. The law, called Measure Y, "put a chilling effect" on projects in the city, Rose Equities' Glickman said.
Measure Y has since been overridden by Measure K, which went into effect last year and mitigates the restrictions of Measure Y by allowing housing developments in commercial and industrial areas. "We felt very vindicated when Measure K passed," Glickman said. Since Measure K went into effect, Legacy Partners Residential's Hive Live multifamily project also advanced in Costa Mesa's approval process.
Uphill Battle
Prior to One Metro West's approval, Costa Mesa residents protested a block party organized by Rose Equities, claiming the project was too dense and would put a strain on city services.
Rose Equities officials, on the other hand, argued that the project would provide housing to area workers. The project is the second big sale in the immediate area this month. The development site is next door to the South Coast Collection, or SOCO, a high-end retail center which earlier this month traded hands for a reported $110 million.
Officials estimate One Metro West will generate $350 million for Costa Mesa and bring 1,800 permanent jobs to the city. "Multifamily is an economic driver," Glickman said. "It brings millions of dollars to the local economy, and a good project will raise property values." The project will include a host of amenities for residents, including multiple pools, athletic centers, kitchens and reading rooms. About 11% of its units will be designated as affordable housing.
Local Footprint
One Metro West marks an expansion of Garden Communities and Rose Equities' footprint in OC. Their partnership counts several multifamily projects in Irvine totaling nearly 3,000 existing or planned units, including Volar, Elements and Metropolis. Volar, which is just east of John Wayne Airport, is currently under construction. The apartment complex, whose plans include 867 units, will complete its first phase in about three to four years.
Elements is two blocks east from Volar and is about halfway complete. The 1,600-unit complex is expected to deliver in three years. Metropolis, which is just north of the San Diego (405) Freeway, completed in 2017. It's Rose Equities' smallest local project, with 457 units.
