Costa Mesa offers easy access to the beach towns of Huntington and Newport without the exorbitant home prices. But the city of approximately 115,000 is appealing in its own right, featuring craft breweries, live music venues, trendy retailers and mouth-watering restaurants.
Weekend trips to Los Angeles or San Diego are totally doable thanks to Costa Mesa’s central location and the fairgrounds play host to year-round events. If you’re in the market for a single-family home or townhome in this far-from-sleepy suburb, consider one of these four new construction options.
1. The Place
Developer: Intracorp USA
Location: 1651 Superior Avenue
Priced from: $1,057,649
As the Talking Heads once sang, this must be The Place. The new urban community in Westside Costa Mesa offers a collection of 42 live/work detached homes with three bedrooms, two full baths and two half baths. Enjoy the 360° Sky Suites, measuring up to 819 square feet, equipped with shade trellises and plenty of space for alfresco dining or lounging. There’s a long list of neighborhood amenities, including a community garden, bocce ball court, shuffleboard court, open play lawn, tot lot, and group dining terraces with barbecues for summer grilling.
2. Westside Walk
Developer: The Olson Company
Location: 390 Ford Road
Priced from: high-$600,000s
As the name implies, Westside Walk is within walking distance of the shops, restaurants and entertainment hotspots of Triangle Square. These contemporary townhomes boast up to three bedrooms, two full baths, two powder rooms and two-car garages with interior access. The 38 residences have yet to be released, so be sure to register online to receive community and grand opening news. When completed, the community will include a lively entertainment area with a fire pit lounge, ping pong tables and cornhole.
3. 17 West – The Gallery
Developer: Meritage Homes
Location: 699 West 17th Street
Priced from: $834,990
The COVID-19 pandemic has made a dedicated workspace a must-have for homebuyers. Fortunately, 17 West – The Gallery features townhomes with first-floor home offices, complete with a powder room and outdoor patio. Future residents will live just over a mile away from the beach, but when they want to enjoy the outdoors from the comfort of home, they can always catch some rays on the roof deck (as per plan). The included interior features optimize health and energy-efficiency, with fresh-air management systems, LED lighting, Energy Star appliances, low- to zero-VOC materials, and water-saving plumbing fixtures.
4. Elara
Developer: DeNova Homes
Location: 946 Aurora Lane
Priced from: $874,990
If a detached single-family home is more to your liking, you’ll want to browse the Spanish Revival, traditional and modern farmhouse-style residences at Elara. The three- to four-bedroom homes measure up to 2,401 square feet — all for less than $1 million. The gourmet kitchens are kitted out with high-end Bertazzoni appliances, quartz slab countertops, shaker or wenge cabinets, under-cabinet lighting and storage pantries. In the private master retreats, expect large walk-in closets and ensuites with oversized showers featuring hand-laid subway tile walls. Just minutes away, you’ll find The LAB Anti-Mall, South Coast Plaza, The CAMP and the Orange County fairgrounds.
