Mixed-Use Project Advances Town Center

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DANA POINT, CA-DBN Development of Laguna Hills has acquired a property for a mixed-use retail and residential project that will be one of the first developments at the recently approved Dana Point Town Center. The Laguna Hills-based company’s new project will be developed at the site of an existing motel at Pacific Coast Highway and Ruby Lantern.

The DBN project, at the north end of the Dana Point Town Center, will feature 22 residences and more than 12,000 sf of retail space, plus a third-floor patio, restaurant and bar space. The DBN development and other projects envisioned by local officials are being designed to create a downtown area that will ultimately feature an array of retail, restaurant and residential options along a pedestrian oriented one-mile stretch of the coastal South Orange County city.

Dana Point officials estimate that the town center will serve approximately 2.7 million visitors each year, explains Steve Delson, president of DBN Development. The design for the DBN project will employ Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, featuring a paseo, patios and a plaza. Many of the private verandas will offer residents views of the Saddleback Mountains, the Pacific Ocean and Catalina.

DBN estimates that, following review and approval from both the City of Dana Point and the California Coastal Commission, construction will require 12 to 18 months. The existing Dana Point Marina Motel on the property is expected to continue to operate until the start of construction.

DBN hopes to begin construction of the project in early 2008. The architect for the project is the Conceptual Motion Co., a Santa Barbara-based planning and architectural firm that has collaborated with DBN on projects in San Clemente and Santa Barbara.