Costa Mesa Planning Commission to review plans for event space and coffee shop in office building near JWA

A proposal to develop an event space and a coffee shop in an existing office building near John Wayne Airport will go before the Costa Mesa Planning Commission on Monday.

The project, which also includes a new outdoor activity space, would remake and renovate portions of the multi-tenant complex at 150 Paularino Ave., rebranding it as Culture Yard, according to planning documents.

The venture would represent “a dramatic renovation of the currently tired and dated office project in order to transform it into a high-energy, thoughtfully designed and truly one-of-a-kind modern office environment,” Parke Miller, an executive vice president of Lincoln Property Co., which owns the site, wrote in a letter to the city in June.

Miller said Culture Yard’s branding “pays homage to the type of culture-first tenancy that the project will attract,” with the goal of creating a campus “that will be attractive to office tenants who have a similar DNA as the city of Costa Mesa — entrepreneurial, authentic and innovative.”

The current office complex consists of four buildings around a landscaped courtyard. The project up for the commission’s review largely applies to the one-story Building B, which measures 11,762 square feet.

FLDWRK, an office and co-working space provider, is moving into the building from its current location at 270 Baker St. and proposes using 3,000 square feet in its new spot to host events and meetings. An 877-square-foot “grab and go” coffee shop also is proposed.

“Our location within the city of Costa Mesa is an integral part of our brand; the customers and entrepreneurs who occupy our space have a special connection with Costa Mesa and the authenticity of its arts and business heritage,” FLDWRK Chief Executive Jeff Tanner wrote in a letter to the city.

The commission also will consider plans for outdoor activity space in the complex that would include seating for meetings or socializing, fire pits and materials for games such as bocce ball and table tennis.

For more information about the project, visit culture-yard.com.

Sober-living permit

Also on the commission’s plate is an application from the Ohio House, which is seeking a city-required conditional use permit to continue operating a sober-living home with up to 45 residents in five units at 115 E. Wilson St.

Because the property is about 550 feet from another permitted home, the operator needs the commission to make an exception to Costa Mesa’s requirement that group homes, licensed alcohol and drug treatment facilities and sober-living homes be at least 650 feet from one another in residential areas.

Sober-living homes typically house recovering drug addicts and alcoholics, who are considered disabled under state and federal laws. While supporters say the facilities help residents address their habits and become productive members of society, critics say they can wreak havoc in residential neighborhoods, creating problems with noise, litter, crime, secondhand cigarette smoke, parking and traffic.

Monday’s commission meeting starts at 6 p.m. in the Costa Mesa Senior Center, 695 W. 19th St.