Commission to decide if condos can do

Deirdre Newman

Imagine living downtown and being able to walk to restaurants, the

gym and the movies, plus having a Vegas-style nightclub right in your

back yard.

That’s the scenario envisioned by developer David Eadie, who wants

to build 161 upscale condos at 1901 Newport Blvd. The housing would

be in the northern portion of the property that contains the Spanish

mission-style Newport Plaza building.

“We believe it’s a good complementary use in this particular

area,” Eadie said. “You’ve got a downtown type of feel to everything,

and a housing component in that area makes a lot of sense.”

While city planners are recommending approval of the project, they

would like to see one of the proposed buildings lowered in height.

Eadie said this poses a problem. The project is designed with an

elevator that would stop at the fourth floor to provide access to the

upper-level townhomes, but the fourth floor would have to be removed

from the plans to lower the height.

The four buildings housing the two-story condos would reflect the

Spanish-style architecture of the commercial and office part of the

property. The project would also include two levels of underground

parking and a five-level parking structure that would serve the

stores, offices and residents.

The condos are expected to sell for about $300,000. Because the

property is in the downtown redevelopment zone, Eadie is required to

provide 14 units of affordable housing, but they don’t have to be on

site. Eadie said he hasn’t decided yet where they will go.

City planners are recommending that the building at the northwest

corner of Harbor Boulevard and Bernard be shortened from four to

three stories to create a better visual transition with nearby one

and two-story buildings in the vicinity and to emphasize this corner

as an entryway to the development.

Commissioner Walt Davenport said he was leaning toward approving

the project because he likes the prospect of adding residents to the

mix downtown.