City, Orange County
© McCormack's Guides
Zip Codes: 92626, 92627, 92628
Bedroom-shopping-office
town between Newport Beach and
Huntington Beach. Population 113,955. www.mccormacks.com
Home to
Orange Coast College, the county fairgrounds, sleek office building and one of
the ritziest malls on the planet, South Coast Plaza.
Of late,
one of the best cities in Southern California for the arts.
Click for regional or detailed map
One of few
cities in Orange County where rentals outnumber homeowner units (35 percent of
total units).
Located near
the University of California, Irvine, also a major player in the arts. Costa Mesa has a
performing arts center and a repertory theater and in 2006 opened a concert
hall. Both are located in what Costa Mesa hopes to establish as an
art-entertainment district.
Movies,
first-class shopping, hotels and offices close by. In early 2007, the city
council approved eight high-rise office and condo buildings near South Coast
Plaza and freeways. Construction could start in 2007 on first residential towers,
25 stories high. www.mccormacks.com
Housing
ranges from low-middle to middle plus. Costa Mesa is filling in lots and an
occasional small parcel but the days of giant housing tracts are over. For the
future, the city, like several others in Orange County, is thinking high-rise.
Close to
Pacific. On east side sits John Wayne Airport, the county’s main airport.
Takeoff times restricted and certain planes prohibited to spare local residents
excessive noise.
Costa Mesa
shares school district with Newport Beach. Several schools have been reopened
in recent years to relieve crowding. In 2000, district passed a $110 million
bond to renovate just about all the schools and in 2005, it passed another bond,
for $282 million. Successful bonds indicate the community backs education.
Among
projects approved: science classrooms at all elementaries, stadium for Estancia
High, aquatics and performing arts centers for Costa Mesa High.
Scores
across the spectrum, low to high. See Schools.
Three
homicides each in 2005 and 2004, one in 2003, two in 2002, four in 2001 and for
preceding years, two, four, one, three, one, two, six, five, eight, two, six,
two. See Crime.www.mccormacks.com
The state
in 2008 counted 41,020 housing units — 15,775 single-family, 4,177 single
attached, 19,987 multiples and 1,081 mobile homes. Median age of residents is
32; about 27 percent of them are under age 21. Middling demographics, not too
many of any group.
Costa Mesa
was built for blue collars and the middle class and its history, to some
extent, can be found in its statistics: about 600 residential units dating
before 1940, about 1,600 from the 1940s and 7,900 from the 1950s, when the boom
started. In the 1960s, the city built 11,400 units, in the 1970s, about 10,400
units and in the 1980s, about 6,700 homes, apartments and condos. Since then,
Costa Mesa has added about 3,000 units and is still building but at a slow pace.
Construction
generally proceeded from south (near the Pacific) to north.
In the southern and
eastern parts of the town you’ll find the homes and apartments from 1940-1960:
utility lines overhead and running down the back alleys, large lots, one- and
two-car garages, trees and shrubs, some units showing their age. Here and there
some neighborhoods — off Sea Bluff Drive, for example — will step
up a notch in quality and care.
North of
Wilson Street, two golf courses were laid in, surrounded by homes. Not grand
homes but homes comfortably middle class: one- and two-story, two- and
three-car garages, utility lines buried, wood shingles, clean, well-maintained,
shrubs and trees planted.
On the
east side, off Paularino Avenue, the housing runs to 1960 designs, a little
plainer than the golf-club homes but still nice. www.mccormacks.com
The
lower-scoring schools are generally on the west side, a reflection of the
demographics. But in education, Costa Mesa has a lot going for it with Orange
Coast (Community) College.
Costa Mesa
and Newport Beach are friendly rivals. Newport Beach enjoys an ooh-la-la
reputation and Costa Mesa's muddles about the middle. Occasionally, some tony
business will set up in Costa Mesa and announce it's “located” in Newport
Beach.
The
reality is that Costa Mesa, in what is called the South Coast Metro Area, has
captured much of the high-end office development around John Wayne Airport. And
as opulent as the Fashion Island Mall in Newport Beach is, South Coast Plaza,
about 320 stores, runs circles around it.
In its
northern sector, Costa Mesa is crossed by three freeways. Easy access to toll
road to South County. Many local jobs. City has installed barriers to slow or
divert traffic on some residential streets.
Three golf
courses, 26 parks, several private colleges, movies, Boys and Girls Club, four
community centers, seniors center, many activities for kids, adults, seniors.
Downtown community center and a pool. Automotive Road of Dreams Museum features
classic cars. County fair every year draws hundreds of thousands. Library open
on Sundays. Skateboarding at Lions Park. www.mccormacks.com
Southern
Cal is home to several radio stations and networks that boost Christianity. One
of them, Trinity, has built a striking center in Costa Mesa.
Fireworks
legal on Fourth of July.
Area code
splits Costa Mesa, 714 to north, 949 to south.
Chamber of
commerce (714) 885-9090.
• Placido
Domingo, Pacific Symphony and Pacific Chorale kicked off opening of Segerstrom
Concert Hall, 2,000 seats and a major addition to the musical offerings of
Orange County. Cost $225 million. The hall was built next to the OC Performing
Arts Center. Plans afoot to relocate OC Art Museum, in Newport Beach, to lot
near OC Performing Arts Center. Housing might be built atop musuem. www.mccormacks.com
• Among recent stores, an Ikea Furniture, one of the biggest
in West, and a large store specializing in Japanese and Hawaiian food. Opened in
2006, another giant furniture store. Under construction, a household and
furniture center with a variety of stores.
• School
district in 2007 was debating whether to change grade configurations at
Killybrooke, Paularino, College Park, Sonora and Davis elementary schools. Instead
of kinder to third, more kinder to sixth, with Davis going seventh and eighth.
• Orange
Coast College to open a new library in 2007; cost $33 million.
• Two
Borders book stores, one in downtown, other South Coast Plaza.
• Town’s
biggest employer is Auto Club of Southern Cal, 5,000. Others Fairview
Developmental Center, 1,800, Experian Information Systems, 1,200. www.mccormacks.com
• Costa
Mesa is building more apartments; one complex to field about 900 units.
• Controversy.
Costa Mesa police are screening suspects for violations of immigration law,
only city in county with this policy.
• Like
beer? Costa Mesa has two of the highest rated beer pubs in the nation, Goat
Hill and Yard House, both famed for their tap selections.
City web
site: www.ci.costa-mesa.ca.us
