Raising the Bar on Customer Experience

COSTA MESA, CA—The repositioning of 1617 Westcliff Dr. here allows developer Burnham-Ward Properties a rare opportunity to enhance visitors' experience on the iconic 17^th St. corridor, the firm's partner Bryon Ward tells GlobeSt.com exclusively. As GlobeSt.com reported last week, after purchasing the property in 2014, Burnham-Ward plans to redevelop it to create a retail and creative-office project for 17^th St. called Castaways Commons that is due for completion in the fall. The 17^th St. area, which is undergoing a revitalization effort, is one of Orange County's most-popular destinations for shopping, dining, fitness and more. We spoke with Ward about the renovation of 1617 Westcliff Dr. and how it meshes with the other redevelopment in the area.

GlobeSt.com: What makes this particular project unique or special?

Ward: First of all, we own a lot of property in the local area of Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. It's always welcome when we have a chance to do projects in our own backyard. We're consumers as well as investors and developers in the community because we live in the area and we know how 17^th St. plays into everybody's lives in the area. It's a main shopping corridor for everybody in the area and the adjacent communities. People go there to shop, visit the doctor or dentist, go to exercise classes and dine or get takeout. This is truly where they conduct their lives. So, when we have the opportunity to play a role in raising the bar on the experience that people encounter when they go to 17^th St., we jump on it.

This particular property, not unlike a lot of properties on 17^th St., doesn't change hands very often. It's highly coveted. They haven't done much to 17^th St. over the years, and leasing property there has never been a problem since it's a heavily trafficked area. Reinventing or reinvigorating a property is more often done when it changes hands; otherwise, people are very content with the way things exist. That's how it's different.

When we have a chance to buy on 17^th St., we try to change things architecturally and bring in tenants that are new and different in the market. For the last couple of properties, we brought in cool food concepts from L.A., and we're doing the same thing here. As we're redeveloping this property, we're taking it from more or less an office property to a combination of retail and office. We're changing out a restaurant that was not so exciting for something very exciting, new, hip and different for the community—we'll be announcing the name of the tenant soon.

GlobeSt.com: Is there an overriding theme for the redevelopment?

Ward: This building is also going to take on a wellness vibe. We're expanding the lease of a couple of renowned wellness service providers—a dermatologist and a cosmetic surgeon—and we already have three very established dentists from the area that are already in the building. Customers from Newport Heights and Costa Mesa are already coming to the building because one of their dentists is there, and we have a chiropractor with an established practice in the building, too. We're also bringing in Ra Yoga—this is an expansion for them—and we're also getting ready to announce a very high-end hair salon that will do a combination of skincare and hair. We're working within that theme of health and wellness.

GlobeSt.com: How does it mesh with what else is happening on 17^th St.?

Ward: It's interesting because 17^th St. or Westcliff runs through two different cities: Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. On that stretch, you have retail and some office and medical office, and redevelopment of medical office and retail space is occurring right at the corner near where our property is located. We own a number of properties on 17^th St., and we just completed a property just west of this where we moved in a Starbucks, a Mendocino Farms and a vitamin shop. What we did on that project and what we're doing here is architecturally upgrading the street scene on 17^th St. It's primarily made up of older properties changing hands or being redeveloped. In the case of the property we're working on, it's a more dynamic tenant mix and also a commitment to enhancing the architectural experience. Seventeen St. is not unlike Venice and West L.A.—very old properties developed in the '40s, '50s and '60s, and not much has happened there architecturally. This is a chance to take an area like this and redevelop it to make it a better experience for the people using it.

GlobeSt.com: What else can you tell me about retail development in this submarket of Orange County?

Ward: You're looking primarily at infill redevelopment, so it's trickier to make an impact on a wide scale. You almost have to approach it one property at a time. These properties are highly coveted and sought-after, so when they become available they're typically in high demand with the tenant community. A lot of people want to get in but have a hard time doing it.