KTGY GROUP Selected as Architect for Bel Mare in Newport Beach, CA — High-End, 2-Story Retail Development on Pacific Coast Highway

IRVINE, CA – Award-winning KTGY GROUP, INC., Architecture and Planning, has been selected as the architect for Bel Mare in Newport Beach, Calif., which is planned as a two-level, high end destination lifestyle center spanning 17 lots on Pacific Coast Highway and supported by two levels of subterranean parking at the busy intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Dover Drive.

“Bel Mare, which is a joint venture between Allied Retail Partners of Newport Beach, Calif. and Red Mountain Retail Group of Santa Ana, Calif., will be one of Southern California’s most elegant shopping and dining destinations,” says Greg Lyon, principal at KTGY.

“The design, inspired by the charming seaside villages of the Mediterranean, will offer visitors a truly unique shopping and dining experience. Featuring open piazzas, intimate courtyards and well-appointed pedestrian promenades, Bel Mare will create an inviting atmosphere for the community of Newport Beach,” Lyon notes.

Featuring high-end boutiques, shops, fine dining and a drug store, the 56,000-square-foot retail development project will be finished with elegant stone, slate tile sloping roofs, plaster texture in a rich color palette, and storefronts unique in character providing individual tenant identity, all while creating a true resort village retail setting.

The experience begins upon entering the property, and continues throughout all areas of this well conceived development. Guests will have a memorable experience that will inspire them to return to Bel Mare again and again.

“This has been an exciting and challenging project to design and plan; a multi-level project on a very tight site that is reflective of the elegant resort lifestyle Newport Beach is known for,” says Albert Croft, principal at KTGY. “KTGY was hired to take this concept to the next level and assist the developers and city in exploring new heights while setting the standard for future projects.”

“This stretch of Pacific Coast Highway will experience significant redevelopment into very upscale retail and resort uses during the next few years, and we are certainly excited to be bringing unique shopping and dining experiences to this area with our project,” says Doug Beiswenger, managing partner at Allied Retail Partners.

Significant improvements to Pacific Coast Highway adjacent to Bel Mare will be completed before the project opens. Pacific Coast Highway at the project location is very heavily traveled, with more than 105,000 cars passing through the intersection daily, said Beiswenger.

The project is currently in construction documentation phase and is estimated to break ground in 2006 and open in early 2008. Snyder Langston in Irvine is the general contractor.

KTGY is also the architect for Bellevue Center, a two-story Whole Foods Market’s west coast flagship store containing 75,000-square-feet supported by three levels of subterranean parking on the site of a historic building in Pasadena.

“KTGY has had great success in working with cities, developers and retailers to effectively maximize square footage and architectural presence in a very tight configuration. Land in urban environments is at a premium and that trend will only continue,” adds Croft.

KTGY GROUP, INC., Architecture and Planning, was created in 1991, with project viability and client satisfaction as abiding priorities, while providing complete planning and architectural design services for residential communities and retail developments.

In a complex and changing world, the firm consistently delivers innovative solutions that reflect clear understanding of development, marketing and financial performance. KTGY takes particular pride in its highly motivated and principal led studio teams, who deliver superior services, thus strengthening clients’ long-term growth and earnings objectives.

Serving clients throughout the western United States, the firm has locations in Irvine, Santa Monica, Oakland and Denver. For more information, contact Sayeh Rad at (949) 851-2133 or visit www.ktgy.com.

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