South Bristol Focus Area

Purpose, Intent, and Objectives

Purpose and Intent

The South Bristol Street Focus Area represents Santa Ana’s southern gateway and is a part of the successful South Coast Metro area. Between Sunflower and Alton Avenues, the District Center land use designation will create opportunities to transform auto-oriented shopping plazas to walkable, bike-friendly, and transit-friendly urban villages that incorporate a mix of high intensity office and residential living with experiential commercial uses.

Objectives

  • Capitalize on the success of the South Coast Metro area
  • Introduce mixed-use urban villages and encourage experiential commercial uses that are more walkable, bike friendly, and transit oriented
  • Realize an intense, multistory presence along the corridor
  • Provide for mixed-use opportunities while protecting adjacent, established low density neighborhoods
A map of Santa Ana with the South Bristol focus area highlighted in blue
A map of Santa Ana with the South Bristol focus area highlighted in blue


Envisioned Character

The following images are illustrative, intended to convey the desired design and character of new development, improvements to the public realm, and general atmosphere envisioned for the focus area.

An outdoor mall in the daytime. There is an aboveground walkway and underneath people are dining at tables with umbrellas.
An outdoor mall in the daytime. There is an aboveground walkway and underneath people are dining at tables with umbrellas.

New development will establish vibrant public outdoor space appropriately scaled to the size and type of project.

A covered pedestrian walkway with restaurants
A covered pedestrian walkway with restaurants

Building design should be dynamic and strong, creating a distinct impression.

Office and mixed-use spaces of similar scale to those south of Sunflower are envisioned between Sunflower and MacArthur.

The Urban Neighborhood designation between Alton and Warner allows for residential and mixed-use projects up to 3 stories tall in order to provide a transition between surrounding single- family neighborhoods and the Bristol corridor.

Intense buildings and spaces should emphasize a strong relationship to the street and an activated ground floor.

New projects in the District Center land use districts will include structures set in and around vibrant spaces accessible to future occupants and the general public.


Land Use and Urban Form

The form and intensity of development south of MacArthur Boulevard are intended to be dynamic and substantial, drawing inspiration from and even eclipsing the current South Coast Plaza Town Center area south of Sunflower Avenue. Between MacArthur Boulevard and Alton Avenue, the form and intensity will scale down but remain distinctly urban. The redevelopment of the auto-oriented commercial plazas will result in the construction of landmark buildings and structures set in and around vibrant spaces accessible to future occupants and the general public.

The majority of the corridor north of MacArthur Boulevard is planned with the Urban Neighborhood land use designation, allowing for commercial and residential projects, frequently in a mixed-use format, to develop in accordance with market fluctuations. The buildings and spaces in this part of the focus area must be sensitive to the surrounding low density neighborhoods while still emphasizing the creation of active and attractive urban spaces.

Urban Neighborhood (UN)

The Urban Neighborhood land use district between Warner and MacArthur allows medium- to medium-high density housing as well as commercial and cultural projects up to three (UN-30) and five (UN-40) stories tall along the Bristol corridor.

UN-30 Urban Neighborhood - Medium Low

Transit-oriented and high density urban villages consisting of visually striking and dynamic buildings and spaces with a wide range and mix of residential, live-work, commercial, hotel, and employment-generating uses

UN-40 Urban Neighborhood - Medium

Medium-high density urban neighborhoods with a mix of attached single- and multifamily housing; mixed use residential with ground floor retail, services, and restaurants; cultural uses; public and open space.

A 3-story mixed use building with a restaurant on the bottom floor and multi-family housing units on the top 2 floors. In the foreground, pedestrians walk across a wide brick crosswalk

The Urban Neighborhood land use district between Warner and MacArthur allows medium- to medium-high density housing as well as commercial and cultural projects up to three (UN-30) and five (UN-40) stories tall along the Bristol corridor.

District Center (DC)

DC-2 District Center - Medium

Transit-oriented and high density urban villages consisting of visually striking and dynamic buildings and spaces with a wide range and mix of residential, live-work, commercial, hotel, and employment-generating uses

An artistic mixed use building with a colorful mural.

The District Center land use district between MacArthur and Alton encourages urban development and landmark buildings up to 10 stories tall. New projects would provide a mix of residential, commercial, and office uses as well as public spaces.

DC-5 District Center - High

Transit-oriented and high density urban villages consisting of visually striking and dynamic buildings and spaces with a wide range and mix of residential, live-work, commercial, hotel, and employment-generating uses

A mixed use building on a bright street corner at dusk

The District Center land use district between MacArthur and Sunflower encourages large-scale urban development up to 25 stories tall. New projects will complement or eclipse the existing buildings in the South Coast Plaza Town Center south of Sunflower.


Photo Simulations

South Bristol District Center DC-5 (between MacArthur and Sunflower)

This photo simulation, looking southeast from the intersection of Bristol and Callens, shows one possibility for how the proposed land uses could be realized within the DC-5 portion of the Focus Area including:

  • Medium-density residential buildings in the background (behind the existing Buffalo Wild Wings) that complement more substantial development on the balance of the site.
  • Substantial and dynamic office and mixed-use buildings that draw inspiration from the existing South Coast Plaza Town Center area south of Sunflower.

Swipe the arrows left and right to see existing conditions on the left and the artist rendering on the right. (Note: This is an artistic interpretation of how new development could support the purpose, intent and objectives of the Focus Area. The illustration does not reflect any proposed projects.)

South Bristol District Center DC-2 (between MacArthur and Alton)

This photo simulation, looking northeast towards Alton from the center of South Bristol, shows one possibility for how the proposed land uses could be realized within the DC-2 area including:

  • Urban neighborhood buildings (North of Alton) up to three stories that buffer the surrounding single-family neighborhoods from larger development along the Bristol Corridor.
  • Public spaces within and around new structures that are accessible to building occupants and the general public.
  • Projects that may include a mix of retail and dining on the ground floor with residential or office uses above.
  • Landmark architecture with distinct features and buildings reflective of best practices for urban placemaking

Swipe the arrows left and right to see existing conditions on the left and the artist rendering on the right. (Note: This is an artistic interpretation of how new development could support the purpose, intent and objectives of the Focus Area. The illustration does not reflect any proposed projects.)


Swipe the arrows left and right to see existing conditions on the left and the artist rendering on the right. (Note: This is an artistic interpretation of how new development could support the purpose, intent and objectives of the Focus Area. The illustration does not reflect any proposed projects.)

Swipe the arrows left and right to see existing conditions on the left and the artist rendering on the right. (Note: This is an artistic interpretation of how new development could support the purpose, intent and objectives of the Focus Area. The illustration does not reflect any proposed projects.)

The Urban Neighborhood land use district between Warner and MacArthur allows medium- to medium-high density housing as well as commercial and cultural projects up to three (UN-30) and five (UN-40) stories tall along the Bristol corridor.

The District Center land use district between MacArthur and Alton encourages urban development and landmark buildings up to 10 stories tall. New projects would provide a mix of residential, commercial, and office uses as well as public spaces.

The District Center land use district between MacArthur and Sunflower encourages large-scale urban development up to 25 stories tall. New projects will complement or eclipse the existing buildings in the South Coast Plaza Town Center south of Sunflower.