Costa Mesa’s SoCo and the OC Mix sold to East Coast investor for reported $110M

Costa Mesa’s South Coast Collection — a luxury retail center off the 405 Freeway that includes the food-forward complex the OC Mix — has been acquired by Continental Realty Corp., making it the Baltimore-based investor’s first California asset.

Escrow on the 292,000-square-foot development closed Oct. 30 for a reported $110 million, a figure reported by the Orange County Business Journal earlier this month.

Josh Dinstein, senior vice president of acquisitions for Continental Realty Corp., said the company was looking to expand to the West Coast and was compelled by Orange County’s demographics and by the site itself.

The South Coast Collection in Costa Mesa, aka SOCO, boasts nearly 1,000 feet of frontage along the 405 Freeway.

(Courtesy of Continental Realty Corp.)

“It’s got curb appeal, it’s got a functional layout, it’s got circulation and favorable economic metrics — it’s got a reason to be,” he said Thursday. “It has such a unique ecosystem of tenants, all kinds of high-end furniture, design and lifestyle tenants. It’s a destination.”

Built in 2007 on a 20-acre Hyland Avenue parcel adjacent to the Vans headquarters, SoCo and the OC Mix were previously owned by Rockwood Capital, LLC, a real estate investment management firm that purchased the site in 2015.

In addition to being anchored by COCO Republic, Pirch, Design Within Reach and Paul Mitchell the School, the site’s 15,000-square-foot OC Mix features more than 20 full-service restaurants, coffee shops, a fine cheese retailer and an art gallery.

A notable vacancy occurred in July when Carlos Salgado, owner of the Michelin-star restaurant Taco Maria announced the business was leaving the site after 10 years of tenancy and would be looking for a more suitable location that would allow for a greater seating capacity.

Baltimore-based Continental Realty Corporation on Oct. 30 closed escrow on Costa Mesa’s 20-acre SOCO and the OC Mix.

(Courtesy of Continental Realty Corporation)

Despite that departure, the center is currently 97% leased and holds ongoing public events that bring new visitors onto the property. For example, a SoCo Certified Farmers’ Market run by the nonprofit Sprouts of Promise Foundation takes place every Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Dinstein said CRC was interested in identifying potential new tenants to fill what scant vacancy remains and possibly pursuing more on-site programming.

“We think there’s more to do in that arena because it is such a good location, and it would help the center’s tenants,” he said.