Planning Commission to see reduced plan for Newport Center residential building
Newport Beach residents and the Planning Commission will have a chance Thursday to weigh in on a recently scaled-back development proposal that would include 45 residential units in a six-story building near Fashion Island.
The 65-foot-tall project, known as 150 Newport Center, is proposed to replace the Beacon Bay Auto Wash and adjacent gas station on 1.26 acres along Newport Center Drive, near Anacapa Drive.
The building previously was proposed to be seven stories reaching 69 feet tall and including 49 residential units. However, the developer chose to reduce the size in the most recent plan.
The new proposal by Newport Center Anacapa Associates LLC includes 15 two-bedroom townhomes, 26 two-bedroom condominiums and four penthouses – two with three bedrooms and two with two bedrooms.
City staff will ask planning commissioners Thursday to share their thoughts on the project and any changes they’d like.
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Staff is recommending that the commission cap the building at five stories, meaning it would reach a height of 55 feet, with mechanical equipment up to 61 feet. That alternative would keep the number of residential units at 45 but would increase the building’s footprint, staff said.
The commission is not expected to vote on the project until Aug. 4. If the plan is approved, it would go to the City Council for consideration.
Newport Center Anacapa Associates said in discussions with city staff that a height reduction to 55 feet would remove several amenities, including a lounge, a workout room and a catering facility that were proposed in earlier versions of the project.
In its report, staff wrote that it believes residential use is appropriate for the location and would further the city general plan’s goal of expanding opportunities for residents to live close to jobs, businesses, entertainment and recreational activities.
“The proposed residential community would be consistent with this goal by providing a residential use that creates a strong sense of place and connection to the surrounding resources in the Newport Center area,” the staff report states. “Concentrating development in existing developed areas provides more opportunities for people to live near places they work and thereby reduces impacts to traffic in the broader community.”
Thursday’s Planning Commission meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 100 Civic Center Drive.
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Hannah Fry, hannah.fry@latimes.com
Twitter: @HannahFryTCN
