Along the 5 Fwy in the Cities of Mission Viejo and Laguna Niguel lies hundreds of acres of outdated industrial, office, retail and dying big box stores. They’ve sat there long enough degrading and waiting for a newurbanism renaissance… Or at least I’m dying to see it happen. It would temp people like myself to relocate back to South County. Cities in South Orange County like Mission Viejo, Lake Forest, Laguna Niguel, etc have a severe lack of affordable housing that inspires any creativity or excitement whatsoever. A well planned project like the Laguna Niguel Gateway could also have a positive impact on the surrounding car dependent neighborhoods.

In May 1999, the City Council adopted the Laguna Niguel Gateway Specific Plan, with new land use designations and development standards that set the stage to create a vibrant urban village comprised of retail, restaurant, entertainment, hotel, office and transit oriented uses. One of the major components of the Plan was to encourage new development by allowing increased land use intensities. The Plan also includes significant landscape and streetscape enhancements, pedestrian amenities, and a unique freeway identification and directional way-finding system.

In May 2006, the Urban Land Institute Orange County District Council (ULIOC) assembled a Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) for the City of Laguna Niguel. The TAP was tasked with addressing whether residential mixed-use development is the missing ingredient in the Gateway area. On July 18, 2006, the City Council considered the TAP final report, which identified housing as the key to unlocking the potential of the Gateway District. The City Council concurred with the recommendations of the TAP and initiated a Specific Plan Amendment process for the Gateway area.

A PowerPoint Presentation from Setpember of 2009 is available for download by clicking here.
The most recent PDF Presentation from November 2010 can be viewed by clicking here.

Santa Ana Lofts

What’s a Loft?

The simplest form of a loft is like a bonus room of a typical home. The bonus room is a feature within the house opposed to an old re-used industrial New York loft like most people visualize. This bonus room called a loft typically has no closet, must be on an upper level of the home and is not fully enclosed. Most common to see them placed adjacent to the staircase and often used as an office or additional entertainment space.

The sexier version of a loft is a wide open floorplan, usually bedroom-less residential space. This type of housing was born out of the re-use of industrial buildings. Outdated, under used industrial buildings become rezoned for residential use and “hard lofts” styled condominiums are born. New construction lofts are known as “soft lofts” with many having their own loft bonus room space as previously described within a large, undefined loft. Loft within a loft… Very common in a “soft loft”.

The Lofts at City Place

Common characteristics of a loft are high ceilings with exposed plumbing, HVAC ducts and electrical conduit. Usually built with brick, but due to the increasing popularity of lofts and the shrinking average household size, many new construction loft projects have sprung up. These new developments are often located within historically significant neighborhoods and require that they blend in. Developers do their best to fool passersbys with brick facades and historical architectural details.

Why are Live Work and Mixed Use Becoming Popular?

Terms you’ll continue to see more and more of. Online retailers, virtual contractors, crafty start-ups, photographers and artists are growing in numbers as the process of how Americans work, shop and consume evolves. Buy one of the many of books about NewUrbanism and the end of big box stores like “Retrofitting Suburbia, Updated Edition: Urban Design Solutions for Redesigning Suburbs“ and you’ll get a good sense of where The United States of American and many other Westernized Countries are going.

South Brea Lofts

What’s Live Work?

Live Work real estate is made up of both residential living and commercial space. The commercial space is located on the ground floor with 1-2 floors of residential above. The commercial space can range in size from as small as about 200 Sq’ to as much as several thousand Sq’. The size of the residential living space is about equal to or more commonly greater than the amount of commercial space. On Average, you’ll find residential living space to be approximately 1,400 to 1,700 Sq’.

What’s Mixed-Use?

Clear definition between the commercial and living space with separate entrances and more lenient business type regulations pretty much somes up mixed use. Another important element is that mixed use allows for employees whereas live work can be limited to a self-employed service like an architect. It would be rare to come across mixed use that restricts commercial and living space being leased separately.

Prospect Village

It’s important to note that in both Live Work and Mixed Use are not necessarily lofts. Here in Orange County it’s very close to 50% lofts and 50% conventional condominiums with defined bedrooms and living spaces.

Benefits of Combining Living and Work Space

In my opinioin the greatest benefit to living and working in a live work or mixed use community is that you’re in a community of entrepenuers. Unlike a normal office condo building where people clock out and go home, you’ll live together and have a shared ownership through the governing Homeownership Association (HOA). Oppurtinities to support one another, network, and share resources. In a world where tested franchises rain supreme, it can be difficult for a new brand to emerge. Live/Work communities could help improve the odds of a new, less experienced business succeeding. Communities like the Santiago Street Lofts have formed their own Santiago Art District. Monthly art walks are organized and promoted as a group instead of fighting to survive on their own.

Santiago Street Lofts

Obvious benefits include the potential for increased productivity and cost savings not having to travel to and from work. Many creative, tech-savvy professionals lust after being able to work from home instead of marching into their cubicle 5 days a week. Live work is great for someone who’s self-employed and could benefit by having a legit work space and storefront with signage.

What to think about when buying or leasing?

When considering a live work or mixed use property, it’s especially important to have a handle on Municipal and Homeowner Association Rules and Regulations. Will your dream business signage be permitted by the HOA? Does your business require specialized deliveries or vehicles? Learn about parking restrictions if you require ample parking for your customers and guests. Looking forward to holding late night art shows without hours of operations restrictions by the HOA? Even knowing if the residential and commercial space can be leased separately may be beneficial if you plan to rent either space on it’s own in the future. If this is something you’re considering then you’ll probably want a separate entrance for the commercial space and the living space.

Separate doors into living and retail, HOA restrictions, leasing, what types of businesses are already there. Can the residential and commercial space be leased separately?

The Lofts at City Place

What kind of businesses are permitted?

Reviewing what types of businesses are permitted by the local Municipalities and the HOA is very important. Will your business be permitted and are there other types of businesses that could improve or hurt your own business?

Commonly Permitted; Retail Sales, Florist, News-Stands, Clothing Shops, Photography Studios, Video Stores, Book Stores, Electronics Stores, Bicycle Stores, Jewelry Shops, Design and Furniture Centers, Accountant Office, Architecture Firm.

Commonly Not permitted; Nail and Hair Salons, Medical Clinics, Churches, Schools, Martial Arts Studios, Coffee House, Smoking Clubs, Pet Shops, Tattoo Parlors, Bars, Nightclubs, Liquor Sales, Adult Entertainment, Dry Cleaning, Vehicle Repair, Machine Shop.

Christy Funk owns and operates Belly Sprout in Fullerton, CA. The store specializes in healthy prenatal care, infant accessories, beauty products, educational workshops and even yoga classes.

Delilah Snell has been, what I’ve seen, the most prominent voices in Orange County when it comes to healthy, socially conscious and environmentally responsible living. Her store, The Road Less Traveled, off N. Main Street and W. Buffalo Ave. has grown and now downsized as Delilah’s Do-It-Yourself (DYI), Craft Expos like Patchwork and Craftcation have taken off.

Up until recently, Belly Sprout has used about half of it’s space to sell retail goods, but has now moved most of it’s retail to it’s new shared location in Downtown Santa Ana with Delilah Snell. The women have consolidated their resources into an incredible new location right in the middle of Santa Ana’s revitalizing art scene.

Stop by their new store at 125 N. Broadway, Santa Ana, CA

Yes, I am excited about products like this! Orange County parking lots are no different than most parking lots of the world. They get really, really hot during the summer. Shade trees do what they can, but I’m excited about new shade structures that capture the sun’s energy while they keep me and my car cool. There are a few private installations in Orange County now. Most notably the new Kaiser Permanente parking lot off the 405 fwy in Irvine. In the past it’s only been an investment that utility providers have been willing to make around here.

Wishing 360 Commercial Partners and Envision Solar International the best of luck with their new business development partnership!

February, 2012 – Envision Solar International, a leading sustainable infrastructure product designer and developer, today announced it has executed a business development partnership with 360 Commercial Partners, Orange County, California’s most innovative commercial real estate firm.
360 Commercial Partners will promote Envision’s solar shaded parking products to their discerning commercial real estate clients. The agreement covers Envision’s unique 100% clean energy product offerings including the patented line of Solar Tree® structures which feature cutting-edge & proprietary EnvisionTrak™ sun tracking systems and CleanCharge™ CI™ Column Integrated™ Electric Vehicle charging stations.

Desmond Wheatley, Envision Solar’s President & CEO said, “We have designed our products to be the best in the industry and to address a whole range of value creation within commercial real estate. Architectural enhancement of the parking lot, shade, the ‘Green Halo,’ reduction in net operating costs, reduction of the heat sink effect and a host of other benefits are all designed to enhance and differentiate the commercial real estate campus and as a result increase our customer’s net operating income. The commercial real estate experts at 360 Commercial Partners are industry leaders. They offer unparalleled expertise and value creation. We are proud that they have recognized the value in our products and chosen to promote them to their vast and impressive network. This agreement represents a massive new opportunity for us.”

Specifically, the date report provides the following data; Whether the project has been registered for LEED Certification, whether the project has been LEED Certified, date of certification, which LEED Rating System, Which LEED Version, LEED Certification Level, Certification Challenge if any and status, Confirmation of LEED points earned.

www.fnfdatareport.com

Currently priced at $500 for each report, it’s a great value for someone involved in a large building. For example, a development that was aiming for LEED Certification is put on hold due to financial complications and is now exploring a sale. Depending on the local market, whether or not the building is still in the running for LEED Certification could make a significant affect on potential rent performance or the sale of the building or units once it’s completed. An investor could hire a consultant or ask their architect to investigate, but I’d be impressed if you could find someone who’s as established as Fidelity and at such a low rate. $500 and an expected 5-7 day turn around for all of the leg work is a steal, in my opinion.

Very exciting news for Southern Californians who are interested in green building! Quite possibly the coolest event is coming to the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, CA next year in 2013. Organized by the U.S. Department of Energy, The Solar Decathlon challenges collegiate teams to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive. The winner of the competition is the team that best blends affordability, consumer appeal, and design excellence with optimal energy production and maximum efficiency.

The Orange County Great Park is an awesome venue for hosting the Solar Decathlon competition and exhibition. This is the site of the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, which the City of Irvine is turning into sustainable parkland for family recreation. The park features a paved runway which is perfect for our solar village, which should make set-up for teams easier while providing a pleasant experience for visitors.

The greatest problem is that our MLS systems and the web-sites that regurgitate MLS data to millions of home buyers and sellers do not adequately record and display very basic energy information. RIGHT NOW it should be mandatory that web-sites like www.realtor.com have the ability to display this important information so homeowners can make an educated decision when they shop for homes. This will help appraisers, banks and real estate agents in many ways as well. See this old blog post all about this VERY important issue. This is a massive opportunity for the United States to improve their energy efficiency. Miles per gallon rating on homes! Not required, but real estate agents MUST at least have the opportunity to display valuable certifications and most importantly a HERS Ratings, which is the most accurate way to measure a home’s efficiency and anticipated energy consumption costs.

Another industry problem is how the appraisal industry has been turned upside down. What are the chances that someone purchasing a green home will end up with an appraiser who is experienced or interested in this form? Not very good, in my opinion.

View and download the Appraisal Institute’s “Residential Green and Energy Efficient Addendum”

Guided Tour and Open House
Saturday, October 22nd, from 10am to 12pm

Tour a LEED for Homes registered custom home in Newport Beach while it’s still under construction with exposed studs. Builder John Steed of Maverick Home Builders, Project Manager Laura Sanders of Jeannette Architects in Long Beach, Interior Designer Rachel Hulan of Path Design, Consultant Evan Little of Permaculture Properties and other design team members as well as USGBC-OC volunteers will be on hand to answer questions and lead two scheduled tours through this cutting edge home. Targeted certification level is Platinum. Targeted certification level is Platinum. Light refreshments will be served.

10:15am – 1st guided tour begins
11:15am – 2nd guided tour begins

Parking:
Street parking is limited. Try parking at Grant Howard Park off Heliotrope and 5th.

Cost:
USGBC-OC Members – $5
Non-Members – $15

Registration:
Tickets are limited, so make sure to reserve your spot early. Contact the USGBC-OC chapter at 714-832-3616 for more information or go to our website at www.usgbc-oc.org to register.

I’ve been fortunate to work with developers who have a lot of experience in how a city can evolve into a more walkable city with greater connectivity and prosperity. It’s uncomfortable for a city to go from sprawling tract homes and strip centers that require a car to get to any basic service to a walkable, well connected community where someone can live with just a pair of tennis shoes, like many people my age (28) are anxious to experience. Orange County must endure more traffic and density before people can live without a car and before light rail and improved public transportation will make sense. If walking or riding a bike can be popular in cities with significantly worse weather, how can this strategy not thrive here?

Either residents need to demand this type of living or Orange County needs elected officials and their staff need to wake up and lead. It’s frustrating to see planning commission seats, redevelopment agencies or city council positions used as just a stepping stone for a career in politics instead of working hard to improve OC Cities.

Orange County, especially South Orange County, was designed around the automobile and cheap transportation fuel. Electric cars offer a promising hope, but until we get to hydrogen or another renewable transportation energy than we must recognize that all resources are finite and we must adjust our use of them to reduce how dramatic the change is when the tap runs dry.

Northern and Coastal Orange County Cities like Orange, Fullerton, Anaheim or parts of Newport Beach and Dana Point have a significant advantage as the County moves deeper into the Peak Oil Age. Orange especially has a very well planned city around Old Towne Orange with a train station, central plaza and grid designed streets.

Orange of all cities should be leading the charge towards the future of Orange County and they even have an affluent college university, Chapman University, to help support the transition. Poor City leadership and naive senior residents who continue to show up at planning meetings to fight density, traffic and Chapman’s aggressive expansion throughout Old Towne Orange. Well guess what narrow minded Orange residents, you’re making real estate less desirable for private developers by reducing density and requiring unrealistic parking restrictions. Developers can’t make money building anything in Orange. This gives Chapman University more time to gobble up more and more property since there’s little to no competition from private developers.

Thankfully we do have a least a few projects thanks to Olson Homes & City Ventures, but how many projects will builders be able to snatch-up and will this tear the peak oil band aid quickly enough. On sale now in Downtown Santa Ana by City Ventures is their Santa Ana Lofts. Shown below is one of their playful lofts with a dramatic stair case from the 1st to the 3rd floor where the main living space is found. No 2nd floor. Straight up to the top and you feel like you’re in a real downtown, which is what many Orange County natives like myself fantasize about.

After 347 long days on the market Westminster’s 1st LEED Certified home has been purchased for $529,000. Original list price was $764,218. It’s 2,410sq’ of living space with 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.

In Orange County, green homes have struggled to gain any significant market share or be taken seriously by the County’s major players in the building world. Other than Olson Homes of Seal Beach & it’s rival offshoot, City Ventures, there has only been a handful of small speculative builders that have braved green building in resource devouring Orange County. Currently, there are less than 100 LEED Certified homes in Orange County with the majority of them being done by Olson Homes in tracts of around 30 units or one offs here and there by smaller builders.

Aside from Olson Homes’ repeated success in Orange County with their LEED-ND infill projects at Depot Walk in Old Towne Orange, Heritage Walk in Fullerton, and still for sale Sycamore Walk and Mosaic Walk in Garden Grove, luxury home builder Tresor Properties has also been successful with it’s 1st LEED Certified beachfront spec home in Laguna Beach that sold earlier this year for a cool $11,500,000 after just 7 days on the market.

So why did this Westminster home sit on the market for nearly a year before it sold? Did the design team have bad taste? Was it not promoted well enough? Was it because buyer’s who want LEED Homes have no access to an efficient online search to even find them? Maybe it was due to the demographics of the city it was built in or simply the location? Is it because there is just flat out no desire for LEED homes?

Personally, I feel the greatest contributing factor was the economy. The few single family spec homes that have hit the market in the last 4 years have been faced with the most challenging market that anyone living has ever seen.

Ugly Design?
Absolutely not! From sidewalk to master bedroom this home was well designed, has nice finish materials and fits the needs of nearly every home shopper searching in it’s price range. At least aesthetically. There are no wacky paint colors, funky counter tops or strange lighting fixtures. The builder’s taste was tasteful and just right for the targeted demographic.

Poor Promotion?
I’m not sure how much love this 2 home development received from press, but I don’t think it was able to reach as many green folks. However there have been similar green homes that have received hundreds of visitors and even a whole Network TV show that revolves around the construction of a luxury LEED Certified home in LA on the Discovery Channel’s Alter Eco and those homes failed to find a legit buyer willing to pay a little extra for the green improvements. So it’s possible that there the promotion and outreach may not have been as significant as it could be, but it’s more evident that successful promotion has not worked for other green homes in Orange County.

Not Search Friendly Online?
Would a home buyer who wants to buy a LEED home who’s shopping in Laguna Beach decide to live in Westminster instead because there’s a LEED Certified home? Most likely not. For the buyer who’s shopping in Westminster, how many of them understand what it means to have a green home? If the answer is not many than getting a functional online search will not make sense until there is a more substantial supply of LEED Certified or green homes. I don’t this effected finding a buyer, but it is effecting appraisal, data that supports green housing, etc.. [read more about greening the MLS here]

Bad Location?
Yes, I do think this was a poor location to build a LEED Certified home or any higher value home for that matter. It’s on a busy street, adjacent to a large concrete river and is surrounded by homes that are of less value. Culturally, Westminster does not lend itself to green building the way a coastal city like San Clemente, Huntington Beach or even Costa Mesa might. Location and culture are huge factors for the 1st round of green homes.

No Love for LEED?
Brand recognition for the USGBC’s LEED Certification has steadily grown due to it’s wide spread expectance in all building sectors like retail, commercial, municipal and especially schools. Companies have policies that all of their buildings must be LEED Certified, the State and Federal Government has also made a commitment to do all of their new buildings LEED. I think there is an added incentive for LEED as it stands for quality and a safer investment than a standard home as we move into an error where energy is significantly more expensive.