SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Planners Approve Commercial Center

A commercial center to be built next to a historic mansion was approved this week in a 3-1 vote by the San Juan Capistrano Planning Commission.

Dubbed “Capistrano Collection,” the 25,815-square-foot center will be a blend of offices, retail outlets and a restaurant, according to plans submitted by Newport Beach-based developer Coastside Financial.

Plans for the one-acre project site at the corner of Ortega Highway and Rancho Viejo Road also show a 39,000-square-foot underground parking lot.

The property is owned by Martha Gresham, who in the early 1980s purchased and refurbished the 1912 Forster Mansion to house her interior design business headquarters.