COSTA MESA : City Planners Approve South Coast Center

The Planning Commission this week approved the final plan for South Coast Boardwalk, a $60-million retail center.

The center, scheduled to be built by next spring, will consist of 395,000 square feet of restaurants and stores, said John Biggs, vice president of construction for Arnel Development Co.

A 10-screen movie theater will be built in the open-air mall, which will be near South Coast Plaza at Bear Street and South Coast Drive and feature major department store tenants such as Nordstrom Rack and Marshalls.

“It’s going to a different kind of retail center than we have anyplace else in the city,” said Walt Davenport, the planning commission’s chairman.

Biggs said the height of the complex will vary from 25 feet to 65 feet, and that parts of it will look like the nearby Crystal Court.

“The architecture will be classical, with columns and arches,” Biggs said. “It will fit in nicely with the overall Metro Pointe area.”

The construction of the Boardwalk marks the final phase of the Metro Pointe Development. Phases one and two were completed in 1990 and include four office buildings and a 300-unit apartment complex, Biggs said.

Sales tax revenue is expected to be $1 million a year, said Willa Bouwens-Killeen, a senior planner for the city.