Laguna Hills City Council Continues Hearing On Massive Redevelopment Project

The City of Laguna Hills has continued a proposal to develop a 225,000 square foot (SF) project consisting of retail, office, hotel, entertainment, housing, open space and recreation uses on the 68-acre Five Lagunas Project site.

Merlone-Geier Partners, the project applicant, plans to redevelop the site of the former Laguna Hills Mall Property located at 24155 Laguna Hills Mall within the Urban Village Specific Plan Area. 

The original Five Lagunas Project, which was approved in 2016, consisted of 45,000 SF of office space, 988 apartment units, and 926,000 SF of retail space. The Village at Laguna Hills, the new project, modifies the Five Lagunas project with additional retail, office, residential and commercial space.

The project includes the demolition of the 1970s-era mall structure currently occupying the site. The project is also expected to provide 60 percent of the housing the City of Laguna Hills is required to plan for in the 2021-2029 Housing Element update.

The Village Project would include the development of five multi-story residential buildings — one that is mixed-use with retail, and four that are entirely residential — with up to 1,500 dwelling units. The dwelling unit mix would include 202 studio apartments, 791 one-bedroom apartments, 482 two-bedroom apartments, and 25 three-bedroom apartments.

225,000 SFof retail uses would be integrated throughout the project in the form of free-standing building pads, anchor buildings, or integrated into the residential and hotel buildings. Retail would include restaurants, a health club, and a 50,000 SF movie theater. Up to four, four-story commercial buildings for a total of 465,000 SF would be developed. The plan also includes a five-story, boutique hotel with 100 – 150 rooms and ground-level retail uses. 

The Village would also include a 2.6-acre centralized park that will be open to the public but privately owned and operated. The Village Park will include a number of passive and active open space and recreation uses/areas, and various hardscape and landscape improvements.

Architects Orange is designing the project’s residential portion, while Gensler and MCG Architecture will be designing the office and retail portion respectively. The Laguna Hills City Council is expected to hear the project again at a special meeting on June 24, 2021.