Costa Mesa / Central Orange County
The medical users we confirmed in Costa Mesa sit in neighborhood centers with surface parking rather than in the destination malls. Hoag runs its Costa Mesa urgent care and health center (primary care, pediatrics and imaging) at 1190 Baker Street in the Mesa North Shopping Center at Baker and Fairview, The Joint Chiropractic is in the Vons-anchored Mesa Verde Center at 2701 Harbor Boulevard, Western Dental is at 1835 Newport Boulevard, and Coast Family Chiropractic is in 17th Street CVS & Shops on East 17th Street. Medical and dental offices are permitted by right in every commercial zone, including AP, so the 6 spaces per 1,000 sq ft parking rate is the number to test first.
Population
110,330
Median HHI
$111,505
Median age
36.7
Homeownership
39.6%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Primary retail corridors
Harbor Boulevard · Bristol Street · 17th Street · Newport Boulevard · Sunflower Avenue
Specific shopping centers in Costa Mesa that already carry credible co-tenancy for this use. Listed in approximate order of fit.
17th Street, eastside Costa Mesa
Anchors / key tenants: independent boutiques, dining, and specialty retail
Walkable eastside Costa Mesa shopping corridor. Tenants include Sidecar Doughnuts and Coffee, Garduno's Italian, Almond Surfboards, Erin Cole bridal, and No Rest for Bridget. Strong neighborhood-and-Newport crossover.
Existing operators are the most honest comp for whether a use can support Costa Mesa rents. These are publicly visible medical retail space businesses currently trading in the market.
Hoag Urgent Care Costa Mesa
1190 Baker Street, Suite 105, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Hoag's page says it is inside the Hoag Health Center building in the Mesa North Shopping Center at Baker Street and Fairview Road, open seven days, with on-site radiology and labs including X-ray and free parking in the lot.
Hoag Health Center Costa Mesa
1190 Baker Street, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Per Hoag, services include primary care, pediatrics and a Hoag Imaging Center with accredited mammography screening and diagnostic X-ray. Same building as the urgent care.
Western Dental
1835 Newport Boulevard, Suite C #138, Costa Mesa, CA 92627
General dentistry. Western Dental's locator shows this as its only Costa Mesa office.
The Joint Chiropractic
2701 Harbor Boulevard, Suite D5, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Walk-in chiropractic. The Joint's page places it in the Mesa Verde Center, west of Starbucks and next to Firehouse Subs; Vons (2701 B Harbor) anchors the same address.
Coast Family Chiropractic
17th Street CVS & Shops, 171 to 179 E 17th Street, Costa Mesa, CA 92627
Listed by the owner, DMP Properties, in this roughly 77,000 SF center anchored by CVS Pharmacy, Baja Fish Tacos and Vons (NAP).
01
Use permit: Table 13-30 row 113, 'Offices: medical and dental', is permitted in AP, CL, C1, C2, C1-S, TC and PDC. 'Medical laboratories' (row 95) is permitted in C1, C2, C1-S and TC but needs a minor conditional use permit in AP, CL and PDC, which matters for a lab-draw or diagnostic tenant. 'Hospitals, general' (row 30) is prohibited in every commercial zone, so have Planning confirm an urgent care or surgery-type clinic will be classed as a medical office.
02
Parking: Table 13-89 sets 'Medical and dental offices; acupressure; massage' at 6 spaces per 1,000 sq ft (minimum 6), against 4 per 1,000 for retail. Converting a 3,000 sq ft retail suite to medical raises the requirement from 12 to 18 spaces. Section 13-89.5 allows a reduction by minor conditional use permit where demand is shown to be lower, and shared-parking centers use the City's shared parking procedure.
03
Large centers: for shopping centers with at least 600,000 sq ft of contiguous leasable area, Table 13-89 requires no parking for office space up to 10% of the GLA and 4 per 1,000 above that. Ask Planning in writing whether a medical tenant is counted as office space under that line before you rely on it.
04
X-ray: Title 17, CCR Section 30108 requires any entity that acquires a radiation machine to register it with the CDPH Radiologic Health Branch within 30 days, and registration runs two years. Dental, urgent care and imaging users (Hoag's 1190 Baker Street site advertises on-site X-ray and mammography) should also have the landlord approve shielding in the tenant improvement plans.
05
ADA path of travel: under 28 CFR 36.403, an alteration to a primary function area must make the path of travel to it, and the restrooms and drinking fountains serving it, accessible, up to a cost of 20% of the alteration. In Harbor Boulevard and Newport Boulevard strip centers, price the restroom and entry work into the tenant improvement budget before agreeing on an allowance.
06
Specific and master plans: Section 13-30(b), (f) and (g) require PDC uses to be consistent with the adopted master plan and send specific plan and urban plan sites to that plan's text. Ask Planning whether your parcel is covered before relying on the row 113 permission alone.
Zoning, licensing, and demographic figures on this page come from the public records below. Codes and licenses change, so confirm with the city and the licensing agency before you sign.