Costa Mesa planners get the buzz on Hive Live, a 1,050-unit complex landing soon
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A vision for high-density residential projects in Costa Mesa is becoming clearer, as planners Tuesday previewed Hive Live — a 1,050-unit complex with retail space proposed to replace an office park and the Los Angeles Chargers’ former practice field.
Planning commissioners took a look at the proposal, and the laundry list of entitlements being sought by applicants for the 14.25-acre parcel, during a study session Tuesday ahead of a June 9 hearing.
The review comes nearly two years after the project was initially screened by the Costa Mesa City Council in August 2023. Panelists then gave developer Legacy Partners their consent to move ahead with the project.
The firm’s regional office in Irvine is overseeing the plan, which proposes three five-story buildings with 1,756 parking spaces to accommodate tenants, 3,692 square feet of retail occupancy and roughly 7.7 acres of total open space at 3333 Susan St.
Planning commissioners will be asked in June to consider a general plan amendment and zone change allowing for high residential uses, as well as amendments to the North Costa Mesa Specific Plan, which establishes building standards for the area.
Hive Live would also operate under a separate master plan imposing requirements specific to the property, which would be broken up into three separate parcels to accommodate three phases of development.
Although not part of the project currently under consideration, developers have offered neighboring defense contractor Anduril, the headquarters of which border the Susan Street property, first right of refusal to build an additional office building at the southern end of the property.
That decision would dictate which of the three Hive Live parcels would be constructed first. Anduril is located directly west of the proposed housing complex, across from a jointly managed strip of land called the Rail Trail, planned to connect bike trails in Costa Mesa and the city of Santa Ana to the north.
To increase the value of that connectivity, the applicant is proposing pedestrian “paseo” areas in between the buildings, where amenities would include seating, artwork and landscaping.
Legacy Partners has offered to make 105 of the project’s 1,050 total units — or 10% — affordable to low-income renters for a period of 55 years, in exchange for a 20% density bonus through the state.
Any further community benefits, such as payments to the city for infrastructure and public services, will be outlined in a developer agreement that is still being negotiated and which will likely remain in effect for a period of 20 to 30 years after units become completed.
Tim O’Brien, a senior managing director at Legacy Partners, explained how the concept for Hive Live began five years ago as the city was in the process of updating the housing element portion of its general plan and eyeing industrial areas north of the 405 Freeway for residential developments with higher densities.
“It was just kind of an inkling, like, depending on what the city’s looking for here, maybe this could be a site that could be offered up,” O’Brien recalled Tuesday.
“The vision became, well look, we have a big (housing) obligation to the state, it calls for density, we think this density should be in the northern part of the city — that’s the whole premise of this.”
After undergoing a screening by the City Council last June, Newport Beach-based Intracorp Homes Monday presented an amended plan for 38 four-story units on the 2.3-acre 16th Street parcel to planning commissioners and was approved.
The Irvine-based developer also built 580 Anton, a 240-unit luxury apartment building in Costa Mesa’s South Coast Metro district, as well as nearby Bloom South Coast in Santa Ana.
O’Brien said the firm’s target market for Hive Live is professionals aged 25 to 45, though each of the three residential buildings on the site would be aimed at different audiences within that demographic.
The southernmost building, dubbed “The Innovator,” would include 315 residential units and a 538-space parking garage, along with all the retail space and a public common area, for an active and social population with modern influences.
Directly north of that, “The Explorer” would be built out with 346 units and 572 parking spaces in a design appealing to creatives and outdoor adventurers looking for laid-back luxury.
A third building “Eco Enthusiast” would be the largest construction phase and include 389 units, along with a 643-space parking structure and a design focused on wellness, meditation and a refined, natural look.
“They all have these individual interests — everybody’s different,” O’Brien told commissioners of the envisioned tenant profiles. “It just helps us to create themes and feel for our buildings; it helps us create a sense of place, of character.”
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