Commissions OK shopping center plan

Mathis Winkler

NEWPORT BEACH -- Cars will be left in a parking field rather than just

a regular lot. They’ll sit in an “olive grove” while their owners visit

stores or restaurants at The Bluffs shopping center.

The 51,890-square-foot Irvine Co. project at the corner of Bison

Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard is likely to welcome patrons by fall 2002

after the city’s planning commissioners approved site plans at their

meeting on Thursday.

Hans Baldauf, the center’s architect, took pains to explain his

thoughts behind the design. He talked about the “vocabulary” of the

different buildings, which borrow elements from agricultural compounds in

Southern Italy, Spain and Mexico.

A single, 70-foot tower that’s crowned with a metal spike will serve

as a focus point for the center and create a “sense of place,” Baldauf

said.

Since the size of the center was already approved by the city of

Irvine in 1996, planning commissioners were pretty much limited to

reviewing the arrangement of buildings, traffic circulation and

landscaping.

And after talking about a few minor issues, such as the width of

driveways and the location for employee parking, the seven-member board

approved the project unanimously.

With about 60% of space reserved for restaurants, The Bluffs will be

somewhat unusual compared to other shopping centers, where usually only

15% to 20% of space are used for dining establishments.

But company officials said nearby residents had requested more places

to eat and people working at Irvine’s University Research Park could also

do with a few more lunch spots.

The beginning of construction for the center is scheduled for this

fall and company officials are likely to announce the names of stores and

restaurants at that time.