Santiago Lofts Link Transit, Live-Work Space

SANTA ANA, CA-Urban+West+Strategies and the Lennar South Coast Division plan 108 units of for-sale, live-work lofts at the companies’ new Santiago Street Lofts, which the developers describe as a transit-oriented development across from the Santa Ana Train Depot. Douglas Woodward, president of Lennar South Coast, and David DiRienzo, president of Urban+West, tell GlobeSt.com that the live-work aspect is a key component of the new project, which is zoned to allow a broad range of retail establishments and service businesses. The 108 units will be three stories each and will range from about 1,540 sf to 2,300 sf, with the ground floors of the lofts designed especially to accommodate the work portion of the live-work spaces. “A key to the project is that the work spaces will be completely separate from the living spaces,” DiRienzo emphasizes. The interest list for the new community, which will take shape on a five-acre parcel at Santa Ana Boulevard and Santiago Street, has already grown to 500 parties. Model units are expected for completion by the first quarter of 2005, with the first owners moving in about mid-2005.Woodward and DiRienzo tell GlobeSt.com that besides being near existing transit links like the Amtrak and Metrolink stations in Santa Ana, the development site lies along the along the future route of the CenterLine Light Rail system. The time is right for transit-oriented projects like the Santiago Street Lofts, the developers say, for a number of reasons. Among these are the growth in public transportation systems in Southern California, projected population growth in the Southland that will create increased demand for public transportation, the growing popularity of urban living and the growth in popularity of live-work housing.The five-acre parcel that will be Santiago Street Lofts formerly was occupied by a lumber yard and other industrial uses. The project, which was unanimously approved by the Santa Ana City Council, lies within a city of Santa Ana redevelopment zone, but it is a private venture of the developers and not a city redevelopment project. Prices for the units have yet to be set.