The South Coast Metro is a district in

Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...

within the cities of Santa Ana and

Costa Mesa Costa may refer to: Biology * Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy * Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus * Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral * Costa (entomology), the leading edge o ...

. The area is a dense mix of residential, office, and retail developments that spreads out from the South Coast Plaza mall. It forms part of the South Coast Plaza–John Wayne Airport

edge city An edge city is a concentration of business, shopping, and entertainment outside a traditional downtown or central business district, in what had previously been a suburban, residential or rural area. The term was popularized by the 1991 boo ...

, a concentration of business, shopping, and entertainment outside a traditional

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

. The edge city's area is defined to include

John Wayne Airport John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

, the Irvine Business Complex (IBC),

The District ''The District'' is an American crime drama and police procedural television series that aired on CBS from October 7, 2000, to May 1, 2004. The show followed the work and personal life of the chief of Washington, D.C.'s police department. P ...

and The Market Place shopping centers, and the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

campus. This larger definition extends into

Newport Beach Newport Beach is a coastal city of about 85,000 in southern Orange County, California, United States. Located about southeast of downtown Los Angeles, Newport Beach is known for its sandy beaches. The city's harbor once supported maritime indu ...

, Irvine, and Tustin.

South Coast Metro

South Coast Metro straddles the city limits of Santa Ana and Costa Mesa, and is a dense mix of residential, office, and retail developments that spread out from South Coast Plaza and forms an urban-retail village that is distinct from the surrounding suburban development. The cultural elements include the Segerstrom Center for the Arts and

South Coast Repertory South Coast Repertory (SCR) is a professional theatre company located in Costa Mesa, California. South Coast Repertory was founded in 1964. It has three stages and presents plays from all eras. SCR producers new plays, Theatre for Young Audiences ...

theater company.

History

C. J. Segerstrom and Sons, a commercial real estate and retail management organization established in 1898, spearheaded commercial development in Orange County, California. Henry Segerstrom, as managing partner of the family-owned company, transformed the agricultural area into a lively, international destination. In March 1967, Henry T. Segerstrom, along with his cousin Hal T. Segerstrom, Jr., opened a shopping center called South Coast Plaza in one of the family's lima bean fields in rapidly growing Orange County. Two high-rise residential towers, dubbed Skyline at Macarthur Place, were built in 2016 in the northeast corner of South Coast Metro by developer Skyline OC. The 25-story towers were marketed as high-end luxury

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...

s, and became the tallest buildings in Orange County by number of floors.

Geography

South Coast Metro's boundaries are generally defined as: *North: Segerstrom Avenue *South: San Diego Freeway (I-405) *West: Fairview Road *East:

Costa Mesa Freeway Costa may refer to: Biology * Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy * Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus * Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral * Costa (entomology), the leading edge o ...

(SR 55) Used often in real estate listings, the South Coast Metro moniker is not recognized by the

USPS The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal serv ...

or other government entities as a distinct region. While there is no separate ZIP code for South Coast Metro, a freeway sign for the area is on the southbound Costa Mesa Freeway at MacArthur Boulevard.

References

{{Coord, 33, 42, 0, N, 117, 53, 0, W, display=title Geography of Orange County, California Edge cities in Greater Los Angeles Neighborhoods of Santa Ana, California