Mesa Verde has hopes for mall

Paul Clinton

A new retail plaza in Mesa Verde is expected to add more economic

muscle to an area already strengthened by the success of a center

anchored by Target across the street.

Baycrest Plaza, as it will be known, should be open for business

by April 1, said Brent Ogden, the center’s developer.

“It’s a great asset for the city,” Ogden said. “The tenants will

be open in the next 60 days.”

Ogden, the president of Baycrest Development Co., has built five

other centers in Costa Mesa. His latest center offers 6,400 square

feet of space, which will be occupied by anchor First Bank & Trust

branch, occupying 4,000 square feet, a Subway sandwich restaurant and

the Nail Corner.

The center, at the northwest corner of Harbor Boulevard and Baker

Street, also features a stonework veneer.

City planning officials, who approved the center last April, are

viewing Baycrest Plaza as a high-quality addition to a burgeoning

section of town. The 73,000-square-foot Costa Mesa Square, anchored

by Target Greatland, opened in February of 2000 at the northeast

corner of Harbor and Baker. Jack Bariteau of Keenan & Bariteau

developed that center.

“I just think [Baycrest Plaza] would complement the new Target

center across the street,” assistant planner Wendy Shih said.

Zoning administrator Perry Valantine approved the center as part

of the development review process, which allowed it to move forward

without an approval from the City Council or Planning Commission.

There was no change in zoning required.

Even though the broader commercial real estate market is

struggling, Ogden brushed off concerns about the viability of

Baycrest Plaza. He said that he designed the plaza to offer tenants

in a market that is underserved by banking.

“It’s not like you build the Taj Mahal and hope they will come,”

Ogden said. “It’s designing it with [the customers] in mind.”

A Wells Fargo bank at 2970 Harbor Blvd. is the nearest

competition. First Bank & Trust is relocating from a smaller location

on Adams Avenue.

Ogden set an $800,000 budget for the center, which did not include

land-acquisition costs. Ogden bought the land as part of a 19-parcel

deal with Shell Oil a year ago.