Newport Planning Commission session to offer a look at 26-story condo tower plan
Newport Beach planning commissioners on Thursday will get a glimpse of plans for a 26-story condominium tower proposed to replace the Orange County Museum of Art in Newport Center.
The tower, called Museum House, is planned to reach 295 feet tall, with an additional 20 feet for equipment. It would be one of the tallest buildings in Orange County.
The Planning Commission’s meeting will be a study session, and members will not take formal action.
“The purpose of the study session is to provide the Planning Commission and general public an opportunity to review the project prior to future public hearings,” Deputy Community Development Director Brenda Wisneski wrote in an email to residents this week.
The proposal, by Related California Urban Housing LLC, includes demolishing the art museum’s single-story building on a 2-acre parcel at 850 San Clemente Drive.
The museum, which has called the property home since 1977, plans to move to a new building in Costa Mesa on 1.64 acres near the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. The land was donated by the Segerstrom family years ago.
Of the 100 condominiums proposed for Museum House, 47 would have two bedrooms and three bathrooms and 53 would have three bedrooms and four bathrooms. The units are expected to range from 1,750 to 4,950 square feet. Many would feature private balconies. The project also would include a two-level subterranean garage.
Initial designs feature a common area with a club room, library, view deck and concierge. Level 3 would have additional common space, including a garden and grilling terrace, a fitness and spa area, a pool and deck with a fireplace, an outdoor kitchen and a barbecue area. An outdoor roof terrace also is planned.
Dozens of residents raised objections to the tower during a scoping meeting for the project’s environmental impact report in February, asserting the development would increase housing density and snarl traffic in Newport Center and hamper the city’s effort to reduce water consumption.
Residents took issue with the amount of development underway in Newport Center and said another building would compound problems.
An Irvine Co. residential development on San Joaquin Hills Road is under construction north of the museum property. A proposal for another development, which would include 49 condominiums in a seven-story building at Newport Center and Anacapa drives, is expected to go before the Planning Commission this year.
Thursday’s study session will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Newport Beach Civic Center, 100 Civic Center Drive.
