Costa Mesa, CA Real Estate

Thirty years ago, Costa Mesa’s lima bean fields gave way to Sax Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom and South Coast Plaza put this town on the map. Today, a pedestrian bridge across Bristol Street connects the shopping plaza with the Westin Hotel and another bridge to the West connects to the adjacent Crystal Court wing of the center.

Longtime tenants such as Cartier, Nordstrom and Louis Vutton recently welcomed a new Bloomingdales to the plaza. Orange County’s foremost performing arts venues are next to the Westin – The OC Performing Arts Center and South Coast Repertory Theatre. The area of Costa Mesa (and southern Santa Ana) is often termed South Coast Metro.

Costa Mesa is also home to the down home annual Orange County Fair each summer, including a full outdoor concert series at the outdoor Pacific Amphitheatre. When the fair is not going on, the fairgrounds are used each weekend for the county’s largest outdoor swap meet. Orange Coast College and the private Vanguard University call Costa Mesa home. Because of the premier shopping and entertainment areas (as well as the nearby airport) Costa Mesa boasts 9 first class hotels.

Although not actually on the water, Costa Mesa benefits from the cool ocean breezes – it can be 10 degrees cooler here on a summer day than in neighboring Santa Ana. The Eastside neighborhood of small to medium homes lies north of Seventeenth Street and borders Newport Beach. Compared to other southern OC cities that have leaned more toward planned development and homeowner associations, Eastside homes tend to have larger, traditional backyards and relatively unregulated front yards.

Two unique Costa Mesa neighborhoods are Halecrest and Hall of Fame. Built in the early postwar years when the OC was still know mostly for its oranges, Halecrest homes were built with built up foundations (not slab) and hardwood floors. The adjacent Hall of Fame neighborhood was built in the 1960’s with a Tahitian/contemporary style of architecture popular at the time.

Residents can join a community club with an Olympic pool and other amenities. The Mesa Verde neighborhood numbers around 3000 homes and is built around the Mesa Verde Country Club, a private course, and also borders the public Costa Mesa course. Some of the homes are of the unique (and futuristic) Eichler design, popular in the early 1960’s. A group of new (2001) and larger (3000 square foot) homes, the Mesa Verde Collection, rounds out the area.

The 405 and 73 Freeways cut through Costa Mesa, the 55 terminates here and becomes Newport Avenue. Orange County’s John Wayne Airport is just to the south of the city and provides direct service to most major cities in the US. Costa Mesa has two high schools, Estancia and Costa Mesa High.