Dressing up the old ranch

Lolita Harper

It is a project that has been in the making longer than Costa Mesa’s

youngest voters have been alive.

After nearly two decades of pitching various proposals to the city

regarding the Home Ranch property, C.J. Segerstrom & Sons is nearly ready

to announce its final plans to develop what is the final piece of

farmland still held by one of the city’s dynasty families.

“I am looking forward to really getting a chance to review the new

proposal,” Councilman Gary Monahan said. “It’s about time for the area to

finally be developed.”

Officials at C.J. Segerstrom & Sons echo the councilman’s

anticipation, saying they think they have finally formulated a blueprint

for success and community acceptance based on long hours of gathering

input from locals.

“It’s a project that has a long history, and over the years has

changed radically,” Segerstrom spokesman Paul Freeman said. “We have

tried this past year -- and especially the last six months -- to work

closely with the general community and homeowners groups in a way that we

have never done before.”

A FAMILY’S GRAND VISION

The plans for the site -- a lima bean farm bordered by the San Diego

Freeway, Fairview Road, Harbor Boulevard and Sunflower Avenue -- call for

a 17-acre Ikea furniture store, 791,050 square feet of office space,

252,648 square feet of industrial space and up to 192 residential units.

Costa Mesa’s existing general plan would need to be tweaked to

accommodate Segerstrom & Sons’ proposal. The developers are asking for

the 62.7 acres south of South Coast Drive, now zoned industrial, to be

changed to a commercial center for Ikea and additional campus-like office

headquarters. In addition, they are hoping to rezone 14.5 acres of

medium-density residential land -- in the northwest region of the

property -- to industrial park zoning, Segerstrom officials said.

Freeman said it makes much more sense to put industrial buildings

against the border of the Los Angeles Times Orange County building on

Sunflower Avenue than residential units. Segerstrom & Sons’ plan for the

land is a more accurate reflection of the current marketplace, he said.

A better place for the homes -- up to 192 units of single-family

houses and townhomes -- would be in the 16 acres of land east of Susan

Street. Segerstrom & Sons is working with planners and architects to

finalize the various housing options. The developers will choose from a

combination of single-family detached, attached townhomes or a multiunit

attached model, Freeman said.

The company changed its housing units from apartments to homes after

concern of traffic and overcrowding was voiced by the surrounding

community.

Councilman Chris Steel voiced his opposition to apartments earlier,

saying he would prefer all single-family detached residences.

Freeman said the developers tried to find a balance between Steel’s

ideal and an effort to create some affordable housing, which is a major

concern for other leaders, such as Mayor Libby Cowan.

Townhomes on the property -- considered the element of affordable

housing -- will start in the high $200,000 range, Freeman said. Cowan

said she would be satisfied with that number.

“These days, that’s about as close to affordable as you aregoing to

get,” she said.

Single-family detached homes would start in the low $400,000 range,

Freeman said, with values sure to rise after all the amenities are

offered.

HOW WILL IT PLAY BACK HOME?

Cowan, who lives in the Halecrest Community, said it is too early to

form an opinion on the project. The mayor said she is mainly concerned

about traffic.

“I look forward to their presentation on that so I can judge for

myself whether or not the traffic issues have been addressed,” Cowan

said.

To combat the potential traffic problems -- a major point of

contention for many residents -- the developers said they would front a

total of $6.9 million for circulation improvements.

In addition to the $3.8 million that the general plan calls for in

improvement fees, Segerstrom & Sons officials said they will give an

added $2.98 million. Money will go to such projects as the proposed

offramp from the San Diego Freeway to Susan Street, which developers say

would divert between 3,500 to 4,500 cars from Fairview Road and Harbor

Boulevard each day.

Traffic needed to be addressed considering Segerstrom & Sons’ proposal

for Ikea would add to the current number of trips budgeted for the area.

Freeman said although he expects a bump in evening trips around the

property, the morning should be virtually unaffected, considering Ikea

does not open until 10 a.m.

Most of the trips to Ikea would be considered off-peak, he said.

BARGAINING CHIPS

The Ikea component of the project, itself, has sparked much of the

project’s criticism. Many concerned residents have voiced concern about

the bright blue paint associated with Ikea. In response, Ikea officials

agreed to tone down the coloring by 70%, Ikea Project Manager Don Collins

said.

To offset the aesthetic concerns of the Ikea store, developers call

attention to the increased revenue the city will receive from retail

sales tax.

Freeman contends that their proposal will bring the city more than $1

million more per year than the existing entitlements. If the city agrees

to a 20-year development agreement to earmark a percentage of those

revenues, the city could be looking at $31 million over two decades,

Freeman said.

To sweeten the deal, the Segerstrom family has also agreed to

contribute an undisclosed amount of money to educational funds for both

Costa Mesa and Estancia high schools.

Despite Segerstrom & Sons’ touting of all the community benefits,

community members are still leery. Even afterextensive community

outreach, a vocal opposition remains. Leaders of the campaign against the

development said their concerns lie in traffic generation an the density

of the industrial park.

Mesa Verde resident and community association members contend the

development company is trying to sugarcoat the deal by boasting of

increased funds for education but have still done little to address the

real concerns of surrounding residents. She plans to fight the

development all the way, she said.

Although he cannot judge where they stand, Freeman said he is

confident that the more people learn, the more accepting they will be.

“Of course there remains opposition to this project,” he said. “But I

would say there is less of it since we’ve scaled back.”

The last and less-controversial component of the proposal submitted to

the city includes the preservation of the Segerstrom home and barn on the

Fairview Road side of the property.

The plan calls for a 1.5-acre parcel of land to house the historical

monument and an endowment to provide for maintenance, operation and

public access to the house.

HOW IT ALL STARTED

In 1882, Charles John (C.J.) Segerstrom, 28, and his wife, Bertha,

took their three young children and left Sweden -- where C.J. learned to

farm -- for the United States. The family landed in Orange County in

1898, in what is now the city of Orange.

After a wagon trip to present-day Costa Mesa, the family found the

land they intended to settle on. At first, they leased the 40 acres,

growing alfalfa to feed cows and began a dairy. After some success,

Segerstrom bought the land on Fairview Road north of the San Diego

Freeway, which the family still refers to as home ranch.

After acquiring other properties, the Segerstroms started the

commercial production of lima beans. The dairy farm was sold and the

family quickly became the largest independent producer of lima beans in

the country.

C.J. Segerstrom, father of 11 children, brought his six sons into the

business and they took over when he died in 1927.

Considered the leader of the family’s successful transition from

farming to the world of development, Henry Segerstrom -- third generation

-- is best known for developing South Coast Plaza and the South Coast

Metro area and providing the vision and money to build the Orange County

Performing Arts Center and South Coast Repertory theater.

Despite their success in development, the family members still farmed

on their land with great success, albeit one tragic loss with the

untimely death of Corinne Segerstrom, 9, who died Aug. 31, 1994, in a

farming accident.

But hers most likely will prove to be the last such tragedy the family

would endure on the farm.

What is left of the original home ranch will instead be preserved as a

testament to the five generations of Segerstroms, who managed to turn a

small chunk of land, just south of Los Angeles, into one of California’s

most powerful retail and cultural dynasties.

-- Lolita Harper covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .