The new city center will feature vibrant mixed-use retail, office, wellness and civic space surrounding a naturally landscaped central plaza and intimate outdoor spaces, along with 275 stylish apartment homes providing Laguna Niguel a long-awaited gathering place for our local residents and community.
Retail
The new city center will feature a range of restaurants from small purveyors to full-service, chef-driven concepts. Locals and foodies can come together and enjoy curated culinary delights in the private patios and large outdoor spaces. Other retailers, specially selected to fit the community’s needs, will be accessible among the many walkable and connected pathways.
Office
The new city center creates a destination for people to work, live and play. Employees will be able to take a break from their day to recharge among open, naturally landscaped areas and network at restaurants, coffee shops and the community library, without ever having to get in their car.
Library
The County of Orange Public Library will be relocated to the heart of the city center allowing patrons to interact directly with the restaurants, shops and community outdoor spaces. With input from the community, the new library will be designed for the modern era and provide students, families and seniors a gathering place to learn and share ideas through modern technologies. The County of Orange has appointed an executive committee that is working with the development team and their architects to analyze the existing library and its current and future needs, technology and optimal functioning. The County Library committee will also meet with city staff, the Laguna Niguel Friends of the Library group and other interested parties during the entitlement process to collaborate and ensure that future programming meets the needs of the community; including such issues as parking, library size, layout, work areas, etc. Programming and concept design for the library commenced in August 2019 and meetings with the city and local community are being conducted on a regular basis over the next several months.
Residential
The 275 apartment homes will be available for rent and will provide an intimate, community feeling with resort-like amenities. The stylish new apartment homes will be designed in two separate buildings adjacent to the City Center retail and will contain a wide variety of floorplan configurations including one-, two- and three-bedroom flats plus some unique two-story townhomes, catering to young professionals, families and empty-nesters. All residents will have access to luxury pools and spas, a state-of-the-art fitness facility, rooftop decks, clubrooms, game rooms, outdoor dining areas and pet spa. Nestled amid an exciting array of restaurants, shops and office, residents will enjoy a walkable, community-oriented lifestyle that does not currently exist in South Orange County.
Community
Driven by the desire to create a downtown gathering spot, the new city center will feature a lushly landscaped central plaza and intimate outdoor spaces filled with family friendly activities and programmed events, including farmers markets, live music, yoga and movies in the park.
Public meeting schedule will be posted once available.
Summary of Partners
Laguna Niguel Town Center Partners is a partnership between Burnham Ward Properties and Sares-Regis Group. Both are national in scope and based in Orange County. Together they bring extensive experience developing, operating, and owning high-quality retail, office and multi-family properties in Southern California, especially in Coastal Orange County.
The County owns the property. Through a competitive request for proposal (RFP) process, the County selected Laguna Niguel Town Center Partners to be the master developer for the property. The County of Orange Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the terms of the Ground Lease in June 2019. The ground lease will commence after completion of entitlements and upon the start of construction and is for a term of up to 79 years. Once the ground lease term has expired, control of the property will revert back to the County.
Laguna Niguel Town Center Partners (“LNTCP”) is a partnership between Burnham Ward Properties (“BWP”) and Sares Regis Group (“SRG”). BWP is one of the leading firms for developing experiential retail properties with an emphasis on culinary and food-related venues, especially local chef-driven concepts. SRG brings experience best-in-class multi-family development, with a focus on creating living environments that cater to the needs of their residents with superior floor plans, stylish and progressive finishes and features, plus a dynamic amenity offering.
Laguna Niguel Town Center Partners is committed to a long term relationship with Laguna Niguel and will manage the property after development.
LNTCP is requesting a General Plan Amendment, Zone Change, Tentative Parcel Map, and site plan approval to allow the proposed project to be developed. The City of Laguna Niguel has land use authority over the property. The current zoning allows a variety of commercial and civic uses. The project will go through a series of public hearings including City of Laguna Niguel Planning Commission and City Council. LNTCP has submitted an application to the City in June 2019.
An Environmental Impact Report (“EIR”) is being prepared by a consultant hired by the City of Laguna Niguel and paid for by LNTCP. The EIR is intended to study the environmental impact of the proposed project on the community and will include an evaluation of many factors including land use comparability, traffic, air, noise, geotechnical, infrastructure and hydrology issues. The EIR will be circulated by the City for public review and comment prior to public hearings from the planning commission and city council.
LNTCP is in the process of preparing the development plans and will be submitting those to the City in October 2019. We held an open house for the public to review the project and provide feedback directly to the development team. The city hosted an EIR scoping meeting in November 2019. We expect circulation of the EIR, planning commission and city council hearings to be complete by mid year of 2020.
The current proposed project is not the same as the 2017 development concept submitted by another developer, although they are both mixed-use projects with retail, office and residential components. The prior plan was withdrawn before the City could complete the entitlements.
The County of Orange Public Library is proposed to be relocated within the heart of the new project to allow more drive by visibility for commercial tenants from Crown Valley Pkwy. This is a critical component of attracting quality retail and restaurant tenants. In addition, bringing the Library into the heart of the project will help create a more vibrant, walkable City Center and enhance the library experience with better access to restaurants, coffee shops, retail and outdoor spaces.
We understand the library is important to the community and a County-led task force has been setup to gather input on program and design. We will also be working closely with the County to arrange for an interim location during the development of the new library.
Special events would include: Farmer’s Markets, Art Festivals, Movie Nights, Live Music, Cultural Events, Food and Wine Festivals, Yoga/Fitness in the Park, Holiday Events and more.
The City is preparing an Environmental Impact Analysis (“EIR”) to study the various impacts the project might have on the community including traffic impacts. A comprehensive traffic study has been commissioned to identify potential impacts and mitigations. The EIR and traffic impacts will be distributed to the public for review and comment prior to any public hearings to consider the proposal.
Through the process there will be several opportunities for public input. Please check back on the website for the meeting dates. In addition, the City of Laguna Niguel has a page on their website with more information and you can reach out to your representative to share your thoughts or ask questions.