Drivers cruising past the 405 Freeway in Costa Mesa may soon notice something unusual rippling along a massive apartment complex: a wave-shaped facade with light coves that can change color, built not as decoration but to satisfy the city's public art requirement. The Costa Mesa Planning Commission voted 6-0 on Monday to approve the public art plan for One Metro West, a 957-unit residential complex planned just north of the freeway.
From Mural Mandate to Architectural Statement
The approval caps a winding path for a project that, according to the Los Angeles Times, was originally planned as a 1,057-unit mixed-use development. City leaders approved the project in 2021, when it formerly included office and retail uses, a seven-level parking structure and 1.5 acres of open space near the Santa Ana River Trail, per the dossier's project record. As part of that approval, developers were required to include an art installation on the side of the garage facing the freeway, according to the Orange County Register.
Rather than commission a standalone mural, developer Rose Equities relocated the formerly freeway-adjacent parking structure underground, freeing up the building's exterior for architectural treatment instead. Brent Stoll said placing the parking structure underground gave the site a softer edge and allowed for architectural elements along the 405 Freeway. The resulting facade spans a 50,000-square-foot area and includes wave-shaped stepped massing, deckside planters and curved light coves designed to mimic a wave for motorists passing on the freeway. The light coves can change color on demand, though they will not flash, move or otherwise distract observers.
A Years-Long Approval Process
The Costa Mesa Arts Commission approved the One Metro West public art plan at its Oct. 1 meeting, setting the stage for the Planning Commission's vote five weeks later. The Planning Commission considered the plan on Monday, ultimately approving it 6-0; Commissioner Rob Dickson was absent from the vote. The project's unit count has shifted over time — the Orange County Register reported in 2020 that the Planning Commission had voted 6-1 to recommend City Council approval of an earlier version proposed with 1,057 apartments, a four-building complex of creative office space, apartments and retail stores with roughly 10% of units priced for lower-income families. A 2024 Register report still described the project as 1,057 units, while a CEQAnet filing — evidence the dossier flags as snippet-based and low-confidence — indicates a modified project reducing the count to 957 units and density from 69.4 to 62.8 dwelling units per acre. The current plan includes 106 units set aside for low- and very low-income occupants.
Commissioners Press on Advertising Concerns
Not every commissioner embraced the design without reservation. Jay Humphrey said the public should have been involved in selecting the facade art, and he described the potential precedent as extending to South Coast Plaza and beyond. Cynthia McDonald raised a related concern, saying she worried One Metro West could someday feature freeway-facing advertising or signage, and noting that visible display surfaces can face pressure to become advertising platforms over time.
Those worries prompted the Planning Commission to agree to add similar language on advertising restrictions into its resolution. Jake Posnock, who works with Rose Equities on the project through San Diego-based Garden Communities, told the commission the developer did not intend to seek third-party advertising rights, even as Rose Equities requested a permit to install the words One Metro West on the facade. Under the city's sign ordinance, Rose Equities would still need to seek a permit for any freeway-facing advertising or signage, and Costa Mesa's municipal code specifies that a mural or super graphic only counts as a sign if it is tied to advertising a product or service or identifying a business, according to the city's code as published on ecode360.com.
With the Planning Commission's sign-off secured, One Metro West's public art question appears settled for now, even as questions about the project's final unit count and parking totals remain unresolved in the public record. The Orange County Register's 2020 coverage of the project's early design shows just how much the plan has evolved since commissioners first weighed in.
