Landmark Lloyd’s Nursery Withers

Lloyd’s Nursery, a favorite of green thumbs and a fixture in Costa Mesa for 38 years, will close soon to make way for a personal storage complex.

“It’s bittersweet,” said owner Lloyd Shaver. “If I had my druthers, I would be in business, but the recession, the large discount stores and the [Costa Mesa] Freeway have made it hard.”

Although the nursery is closing, Shaver’s landscaping service will move to Santa Ana Heights “sometime in the next three months,” he said.

Lloyd’s started on Fairview Road in 1960 and moved two years later to the current location on Newport Boulevard at Bay Street.

“Honestly, he is one of the finest people I’ve ever dealt with in business,” said Winnie Ross of Corona del Mar, a patron since 1971. “He’s rare, a real gentleman.”

The City Council this week approved an application for a 47,161-square-foot “mini-warehouse” with 401 storage units to replace Lloyd’s.

Officials overturned a previous Planning Commission recommendation against the sale on grounds that it would not improve the appearance and business conditions along the northern stretch of Newport Boulevard.

Representatives from Instorage convinced the council that the complex will defy stereotypical images of storage yards with a modern look, good maintenance and high technology security.

“It’s a property rights issue,” said Councilman Gary Monahan. “Who am I to tell you this is the wrong decision?”

Instorage, headed by Gary Smith of Rancho Santa Margarita, plans to buy the land from Shaver and raze the nursery. The selling price was not disclosed.