NEWPORT BEACH : Stores Near Main Library OKd

After meeting more than 100 conditions, a proposal for a shopping center next to the city’s Main Library has won approval.

The Irvine Co. project, Corona del Mar Plaza, will contain large general merchandise, apparel and food stores. Construction is to begin early next year with a goal of opening before the 1996 holiday season. The cost of the project has not been disclosed.

Neighboring community associations have lobbied for a year to make sure traffic at the center, at East Coast Highway and MacArthur Boulevard, will not affect residential areas.

After homeowners and the developer reached a compromise that will involve relocating the access on MacArthur Boulevard away from the residential area, the City Council approved the project.

Corona del Mar Plaza is expected to generate $360,000 a year in tax revenue. Irvine Co. changed the name of the project from Newport Pavilion at the request of the Corona del Mar Chamber of Commerce to reflect the area that the shopping center will serve, said Tom Redwitz, Irvine Co. vice president.

The 10-acre site originally was set aside for an art museum adjacent to the new Main Library, which opened last year. When funding for the museum fell short, however, Irvine Co. drew plans for a retail center.

Besides homeowner concerns over traffic, trustees of the Main Library were worried shoppers would fill the library’s parking area. That issue was resolved when the developer agreed to add more parking to its project design.