Plans for the Plant commercial and residential project in Costa Mesa await City Council review

Plans for the Plant — a new mixed-use development eyed for Costa Mesa’s Sobeca district — will go to the City Council for review Tuesday.

Proposed by Lab Holding LLC, the same company that developed the Camp and the Lab commercial centers on Bristol Street, the Plant would redevelop roughly 2.2 acres of land at the corner of Baker Street and Century Place.

Plans entail renovating four existing commercial buildings with retail and dining uses surrounding a central courtyard. The buildings house an auto dealership, CarMart LLC, and used to contain a nursery and garden shop called the Plant Stand.

The project also calls for a new greenhouse structure and a four-story building with a mix of 48 residential units, six live/work units and office space above a two-level, 180-stall parking garage.

City planning commissioners unanimously approved the master plan for the Plant in March. However, Councilman Jim Righeimer asked that the item come to the council so he and his colleagues could review the parking plan.

Parking was the main sticking point when the development first went before the Planning Commission in December. At that time, Lab Holding proposed using 27 on-street spaces located partially in the public right-of-way along Century Place to help the project meet its parking requirement.

The revised plan the commission passed last month has 242 total on-site parking spaces.

Concerns about parking are not unique to the Plant. Such issues come up consistently regarding projects proposed in the Sobeca district, a 39-acre zone that includes the Camp and the Lab.

Council members can choose to uphold, revise or overturn the Planning Commission’s decision during Tuesday’s meeting, which starts at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 77 Fair Drive.

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