Overall, a record of success
- Share via
Paul Clinton
Earlier this month, the community that has thrived on a string of
blockbuster retail, office and housing projects from C.J. Segerstrom
& Sons turned away the latest project from the storied developer of
South Coast Plaza, Metro Point and Home Ranch.
On April 7, the City Council rejected the Segerstrom’s bid to
install a Kohl’s department store in Mesa Verde Center. The family
has headed back to the drawing board to refashion the project with
its track record of success intact, said John Moorlach, Orange
County’s treasurer and a Mesa Verde resident.
“It was definitely an aberration,” Moorlach said about the Kohl’s
plan. “Overall, their legacy is incredible. ... You cannot complain
about what the Segerstroms have done [for Costa Mesa].”
The former ranchers-turned-developers have faced stiff resistance
before, especially with their 12-year odyssey to develop a former
lima bean field just north of the San Diego Freeway. That project was
downsized twice, first in the 1980s after a voter referendum
overturned a city approval. Finally, persistence paid off: In
November 2001, the council approved a much-less intensive Home Ranch
project that includes an IKEA store.
The Segerstroms also faced resistance on the Standard Pacific
Homes project. The council approved 69 homes in Mesa Verde in 1999
instead of the 97 the Segerstroms had proposed.
A LASTING INFLUENCE
Today, the Segerstrom name carries tremendous weight around town,
even though the family has sold off most of its land holdings. At its
apex, the Segerstroms owned some 2,000 acres in Costa Mesa and Santa
Ana. They now own about 300.
“We have modest land holdings as compared to the large developers
in the county,” said Paul Freeman, the Segerstrom spokesman. “But
what we do have is a disproportionately large impact on the city.”
The city receives an impressive $10 million a year alone from
South Coast Plaza, which by almost any measure is among the most
successful shopping centers in the nation. With more than $1 billion
a year in annual sales, the plaza outsells Rodeo Drive in Beverly
Hills, New York’s Madison Avenue and San Francisco’s Union Square.
Its retail stores include Cartier, Chanel, Saks Fifth Avenue and
Tiffany & Co.
“The Segerstrom family has always focused on quality,” said Debra
Gunn Downing, the plaza’s spokeswoman. “They’ve always brought in the
best of the best.”
In addition to the plaza, the family owns and operates Mesa Verde
Center and Mesa North Center, at Fairview Road and Baker Street.
The Segerstroms are also almost solely responsible for the South
Coast Metro offices, the Orange County Performing Arts Center and
South Coast Repertory. The Offices of South Coast Plaza, as they are
known, include Plaza Tower, Center Tower, Imperial Bank Tower and the
California Bank & Trust Building.
C.J. Segerstrom & Sons also still owns the Lake Center Office
Park, the headquarters for PacifiCare Health Systems; Harbor Gateway
Business Center, the headquarters to FileNet, Apria Healthcare Group
and Emulex Corp.; Whittier Law School, at 3333 Harbor Blvd.; and
National University’s campus, at 3390 Harbor Blvd.
WRONG PLACE, WRONG TIME
Even opponents of the Kohl’s project acknowledge the family’s
success. They say the rejection wasn’t a slight to the family, but
rather the wrong project for Mesa Verde Center.
“They did a phenomenal job at making Kohl’s a sellable project,”
said Councilman Gary Monahan, who voted against it. “But the Kohl’s
was not a fit there. ... It was wrong for the spot.”
The four council members who opposed it -- Councilwoman Libby
Cowan was the sole supporter -- said the project would have created
too much traffic and added another “big box” retailer to a
neighborhood that already has large Home Depot and Target Greatland
stores.
Freeman says the opposition to Kohl’s was “not rational,” since
some opponents called for a skate park, bowling alley or other
recreational use. None of those uses are commercially viable, Freeman
said.
“We are not as powerful as the marketplace,” Freeman said. “Just
wishing that a bowling alley will be successful, that doesn’t mean it
will be.”
Ironically, Kona Lanes announced it would close shortly before the
Kohl’s vote. The Segerstroms has been keeping the bowling alley alive
with rent breaks and other subsidies for several years, Freeman said.
What the future of the center is remains unclear. Councilman Allan
Mansoor said he is keeping an open mind about plans for Mesa Verde
Center, as long as it isn’t a large-scale retailer.
“People expressed to me that they would like to see smaller,
classy venues,” Mansoor said. “People are looking for something that
is special and unique.”
* PAUL CLINTON covers the environment, business and politics. He
may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.