A Case Study: The Place
The Situation:
The discovery of oil brought great prosperity to the Huntington/Long Beach region in the early 1900s, but a huge mess was left behind once all the oil was taken and the wells were abandoned. Two oil derricks occupied the site now known at The Place from 1927 to the late 1940s. From 1951 to 2009, the site was occupied by the J.C. Carter company, a manufacturer of components for transporting cryogenic fuels such as liquefied natural gas.
MLC Holdings, a subsidiary of Meritage Homes, purchased the property in 2007, hoping to rezone the site from light industrial to residential. 17 buildings—including offices and warehouses—needed to be removed along with natural gas storage tanks and oil-soaked soil. The subject property was put up for sale in January, 2017, by which time the site had been successfully remediated, zoned for single family homes, graded, and had water, storm, and sewage services excavated and installed.
The Solution:
In partnership with Grosvenor, Intracorp was the third developer to try their hand at creating value in a part of Costa Mesa that was historically underutilized. To make the site profitable, Intracorp worked with The City of Costa Mesa to redesign the usage of interior space and enhance the elevations of each home. Most notably, is additional space provided by adding a trellised or covered “Sky Suite” on the decks of the single-family homes. Private yard space is limited due to the narrow lot sizes, so the Sky Suite delivers coveted outdoor space and is an elegant solution that has attracted a more affluent, upscale purchaser.
The Result:
The quality of construction of the homes, as well as the innovative use of the rooftop Sky Suites make the project a memorable success in an area where housing is in short supply. Local residents opposed to accelerated growth in the Costa Mesa area, have the power to turn down future developments through public plebiscite—a factor which further enhances The Place’s property values.
“Intracorp finds creative ways to differentiate their homes from the competition – the Sky Suites at The Place is the perfect example of that. Innovative product, designed with homeowners in mind, is one of the reasons we partner with them again and again.”
Mark S. Darley, Senior Vice President, Grosvenor Americas
Learn more about The Place here.
