Construction Begins For The Press Costa Mesa, The Former LA Times Printing Press Site
An open-air atrium, a Zen garden, natural light beaming through creative offices, a food hall and a historical nod to the former owners of the site are among several features in Steelwave and Invesco Real Estate’s $200M The Press mixed-use development in Costa Mesa.
The JV has kicked off construction and its makeover of the Los Angeles Times’ former Orange County newsroom and printing press plant at 1375 Sunflower Ave.
The 430K SF mixed-use project will have a 380K SF creative office campus with 50K SF of retail space, including a food hall being planned in collaboration with LAB Holding, the company behind The LAB Anti-Mall, Center Street Anaheim and The Anaheim Packing District.
Newmark Knight Frank Senior Managing Directors Jay Nugent and George Thomson are handling pre-leasing for The Press.
“This property embraces its history but also responds to what today’s modern user desires in office space," Steelwave Managing Director Seth Hiromura said in a news release. "We look forward to bringing The Press back to life."
Steelwave and Invesco acquired the industrial and office property along with another 4-acre parcel for $65M in November from Kearny Real Estate and Tribune Real Estate Holdings, a subsidiary of former Los Angeles Times owner Tribune Media.
The property is adjacent to Steelwave's 180K SF Hive creative office campus, which is the headquarters for the Los Angeles Chargers.
Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects is designing The Press site. The project will preserve the printing press' original structure, such as the canopies and monolithic concrete walls, the steel frames and the machine rooms, according to the news release.
The project will feature plenty of natural light, a 1-acre park with a Zen garden, artwork, open-air cafés, WiFi and dedicated drop-off areas for ride-share vehicles, bike share and scooters. The office campus is slated to be ready by the first quarter of 2020.
“Costa Mesa is becoming the hub of the creative workforce in Orange County and The Press will finally offer companies the ability to work in a historical creative atmosphere with unparalleled retail amenities that cater to today’s generation," Nugent said.
