Rose Equities Moves Forward on 1,100-unit Apartment Complex in Costa Mesa

Rose Equities has moved ahead with plans to build a 1,057-unit apartment complex in Costa Mesa, the first big multifamily project there in years.

The Costa Mesa City Council amended its development agreement with the Beverly Hills-based developer this month for the mixed-use project known as One Metro West at 1683 Sunflower Avenue, the Orange County Register reported.

The 15.2-acre development would replace a large warehouse next to the 405 Freeway.

Rendering 1683 Sunflower Avenue, (AC Martin)

Plans include three six- and seven-story apartment buildings, 25,000 square feet of offices and 6,000 square feet of shops and a 1.5-acre public park.

The white and beige complex, designed by Los Angeles-based AC Martin, would include a fitness center, rooftop decks and at least three swimming pools, according to a rendering.

One Metro West would set aside 106 affordable apartments for low-and very-low income households.

After Rose Equities breaks ground, the apartments would be built in three phases and take 10 years to complete.

“As you know, very little housing has been approved in Costa Mesa over the last eight years. And lack of housing is at the core of so many of society’s issues,” Brent Stoll, a partner at Rose Equities, told the council.

The first building, closest to the freeway, would have 400 units and will take up to three years to build, Stoll said. As part of the project, the developers are beefing up a bike lane on Sunflower Avenue to connect with the Santa Ana River Trail.

The second and third apartment buildings, one of which would reach as high as 98 feet, would likely be built separately and also take around three years to build

Stoll said if the apartments were leased today, rents would start from between $2,600 to $2,700 a month for a studio, slightly above most rentals in the area. The typical rent for an apartment in Costa Mesa is $2,511, according to Apartment List.

The city approved the project in 2021, initially putting it on a path that would require voter approval, according to the Register.

A year later, Costa Mesa voters approved Measure K, which eliminated the need for voters to weigh in on developments in some commercial and industrial areas. Under the new law, One Metro West won’t have to go before voters to get built.

Mayor John Stephens said the only sustainable way to address the problem of expensive housing is to build more homes in Costa Mesa.

“One Metro West … is the only developer who is likely to build any substantial amount of homes in the next five to 10 years,” Stephens said.

This month, Rose Equities and San Diego-based Garden Communities were approved to build a 272-unit apartment complex at 2325 Crenshaw Boulevard in Torrance.

In November 2022, Rose Equities and Garden Communities paid $71 million for the former site of a Renaissance Hotel in Westchester County, New York, with plans to redevelop it into a 760-unit luxury apartment complex.

— Dana Bartholomew