By Eric Engelbert
The Longest Bet on Mariners' Mile
Most people know Mariners' Mile as the stretch of West Coast Highway between Dover Drive and Newport Boulevard where Newport Harbor opens up to view and a string of restaurants, boat dealers, and marine businesses have occupied the waterfront for decades. It is one of the most recognizable commercial corridors in coastal Orange County and, for much of the past 15 years, one of the most quietly contested.
While most of the development conversation in Newport Beach has centered on Newport Center and the Airport Area, a pair of brothers who made their fortune in computer storage technology have been slowly, methodically, and expensively assembling one of the largest private land positions in the history of Mariners' Mile.
Manouch and Mark Moshayedi, co-founders of STEC Inc. and Newport Beach residents, have spent more than $130 million since 2009 buying up properties on both sides of West Coast Highway in this corridor. Their plan is called Newport Village. It has been through multiple versions, one withdrawn application, sustained community opposition, and years of environmental review.
It is not built yet. But it remains the most ambitious development proposal Mariners' Mile has ever seen, and the EIR process that will determine its fate is now well underway.
From STEC to Real Estate: The Moshayedi Family Story
The backstory of Newport Village begins not on the water but in Silicon Valley. Manouch Moshayedi and his brother Mark co-founded STEC Inc., a Santa Ana-based maker of solid-state storage devices, and built it into a publicly traded company that supplied enterprise-grade flash storage to major data center operators. The company rode the early wave of the enterprise SSD market before facing competitive pressure from larger players.
In 2013, Western Digital Corporation acquired STEC for $340 million. With liquidity from the sale, the brothers pivoted to what Manouch described as "one-of-a-kind properties" in their home community of Newport Beach.
The target was Mariners' Mile. Beginning as early as 2009 and accelerating through the mid-2010s, MX3 Ventures (Manouch's firm) and MSM Global Ventures (Mark's firm) acquired a multiblock stretch of properties on both the waterfront side of Coast Highway and the inland side. By 2017 they had assembled more than $130 million in Mariners' Mile real estate across entities, making them among the largest privately held commercial real estate owners in Orange County.
A third brother, Mike Moshayedi, also has prior ties to STEC and connections to the family's real estate interests. The family has been described as deeply rooted in the Newport Beach community, which gives the Newport Village proposal a local-owner dimension that distinguishes it from out-of-market developers bringing capital to Newport Beach for the first time.
A key moment in the land assembly came in 2015, when Don Haskell, a long-influential owner of several Mariners' Mile parcels, passed away. In 2016, Moshayedi acquired properties that had housed Ardell Yacht and Ship Brokers, Silver Seas Yachts, and Sun Country Marine, filling in critical gaps in the portfolio.
What Newport Village Proposes
The current version of Newport Village (application PA2022-0166, filed August 2022) is a substantially more modest project than what the Moshayedis originally envisioned. The first 2017 proposal called for nearly 600,000 square feet of development, including 175 residential units, 240,000 square feet of commercial space, a new 77-slip marina, and 694 underground parking spaces. That version drew immediate opposition and went through multiple revisions before being withdrawn entirely in March 2022.
The resubmitted plan is calibrated to fit within the existing Newport Beach General Plan without requiring a public vote under the city's charter provisions. Community Development Director Seimone Jurjis confirmed in 2017 that the project, as structured, does not trigger a citywide vote. That calculation holds for the current version.
The project sits on 9.4 acres spanning both north and south sides of West Coast Highway in the 2000 and 2200 blocks. It is divided between two distinct parcels.
The north parcel, on the inland side of PCH between the former Holiday Inn and Novamar Insurance, will be developed with 181 rental apartment units arranged in a pedestrian-oriented village setting with tree shade, retail, and restaurant space at the ground level.
The south parcel, on the waterfront side of PCH between A'maree's and the German School campus, will contain 17 for-sale condominium units along with retail and restaurant space and a three-story parking structure. The A'maree's building at 2241 West Coast Highway and the office building at 2244 West Coast Highway are both being retained; other structures on the site will be demolished.
A new publicly accessible waterfront boardwalk and plaza ties the south parcel together and represents one of the project's most significant public benefits: open access to Newport Harbor along a stretch that has historically been occupied by private marine businesses.
| Component | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total site | 9.4 acres at 2000-2244 W. Coast Highway, both sides of PCH |
| Developers | MX3 Ventures (Manouch Moshayedi) + MSM Global Ventures (Mark Moshayedi) |
| Architect | BAR Architects & Interiors |
| Apartments (north parcel) | 181 rental units, including 9 affordable to very-low-income households |
| Condominiums (south parcel) | 17 for-sale waterfront condominiums |
| Total commercial | 63,285 sq ft: 20,310 office + 20,690 retail + 22,285 restaurant |
| Parking | 848 spaces (surface, structured, subterranean) |
| Max height | 35 feet (both parcels) |
| Public benefit | New publicly accessible waterfront boardwalk and plaza; existing bulkheads reinforced and capped |
| Retained structures | A'maree's building (2241 WCH) and office building (2244 WCH) |
| Density bonus | 20% density bonus requested in exchange for 9 very-low-income units |
A Decade of Revisions and Resistance
Newport Village has been one of the most persistently contested development proposals in Newport Beach's recent history. The resistance is not about the project being speculative or underfunded. It is about location.
Mariners' Mile sits at the base of the bluffs along Cliff Drive and Kings Road. The homes on those streets, many of which have enjoyed unobstructed views of Newport Harbor for decades, sit directly uphill from the project site. Any development that rises above existing structures on the waterfront threatens the view corridors that these properties have been valued on for generations.
At a November 2019 community meeting where Manouch Moshayedi unveiled a revised design, the reception was described by the Newport Beach Independent as an "icy" cold shoulder. One homeowner asked the developer's attorney Sean Matsler directly whether residents would be compensated for depressed property values if they lost views their homes had enjoyed for more than 50 years. The answer, diplomatically, was no.
"It's a very substantial project that will have a very dramatic impact on what Mariners' Mile will become," Bayshores resident Patrick Gormley said at that meeting, striking a more measured tone. "This is the most significant portion of land that is being considered for development along Mariners' Mile."
The "Protect Mariners' Mile" coalition has been organized in opposition throughout the project's lifespan, tracking city council actions, publicizing EIR timelines, and mobilizing community members to submit comments.
Moshayedi has not been without a response to critics. At the 2019 meeting he pointed out that under California's density bonus law, he could build up to 50 feet if he maximized affordable unit inclusion. At 35 feet, he argued, the project is the most restrained version the market-rate math allows. "If we did that," he said, referring to the taller option, "you would be crying, you would be shouting and these buildings would be in front of your living rooms."
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2009-2017 | Moshayedi family assembles Mariners' Mile properties; total investment exceeds $130M |
| 2015 | Don Haskell, influential Mariners' Mile property owner, passes away |
| 2016 | Moshayedi acquires Ardell Yacht, Silver Seas Yachts, Sun Country Marine properties; application initialized |
| December 2017 | First plans filed with city: ~600,000 sq ft, 175 units, 77-slip marina, $130M+ development |
| November 2019 | Revised 299,500 sq ft design presented; community gives "cold shoulder"; Protect Mariners' Mile coalition active |
| March 2022 | Original application (PA2017-253) withdrawn; new Preliminary Application filed same month |
| August 2022 | Revised entitlement application (PA2022-0166) filed: 198 units, 63,285 sq ft commercial, 9.4 acres |
| November 2022 | City Council authorizes EIR Professional Services Agreement; Psomas retained as EIR consultant |
| October 2023 | EIR Notice of Preparation issued; public scoping meeting held October 25, 2023 |
| 2024-2025 | Draft EIR anticipated Spring/Summer 2024; Planning Commission hearings anticipated 2024 |
The Approvals This Project Needs
Newport Village carries one of the longest approval checklists of any project in Newport Beach's current development pipeline. This is partly a function of its location in the Coastal Zone and partly a function of its complexity as a mixed-use project spanning both sides of a state highway.
The project requires a Major Site Development Review to allow the scope of the project and the 35-foot building height (above the base 26/31-foot limit). It needs a Tentative Tract Map to merge the underlying parcels and create 17 saleable condominium units. A Traffic Study under Newport Beach's Traffic Phasing Ordinance is required, with coordination with Caltrans for any improvements to PCH right-of-way. A Coastal Development Permit is required from the city, and an Approval in Concept must then go to the California Coastal Commission for the bulkhead improvements and partial marina redesign.
The project also requires a Conditional Use Permit for the parking management plan and a formal Affordable Housing Implementation Plan to document the 9 income-restricted units and the density bonus structure. And the EIR itself must address roughly a dozen technical studies including geotechnical, hydrology, marine biology, noise, view simulation, and historic resources.
Three waivers are also being requested: a waiver of the minimum commercial floor area ratio requirement, a waiver to reduce the private open-space requirement on the north parcel, and removal of the 100-foot residential setback from PCH on the north parcel (needed to make the parking and housing configuration work on a compact site).
Senior Planner Liz Westmoreland has been the city contact throughout the project's review process. The EIR consultant is Psomas, retained by the city via a Council-authorized agreement in November 2022.
Two Newport Beach Council members have potential conflicts that could limit their participation in any vote on the project. Councilman Duffy Duffield's companies operate the Duffy Electric Boat Company at 2001 West Coast Highway and a service yard at 2439 West Coast Highway, both within the project area. Councilman Brad Avery has ties to the Orange Coast College School of Sailing and Seamanship at 1801 West Coast Highway, though the city attorney's office has analyzed the conflict question separately for each.
What Mariners' Mile Could Become
The debate over Newport Village is, at its core, a debate about what Mariners' Mile should be.
For most of its history the corridor has been an eclectic mix of marine businesses, boat dealers, restaurants, and offices. It has never been planned or designed as a coherent district. The city has periodically attempted to develop a Mariners' Mile Revitalization Master Plan, but those efforts have not produced adopted standards that would define the corridor's future in detail.
Newport Village represents one possible answer: a mixed-use waterfront neighborhood with retail, dining, a public boardwalk, and residential units that would bring density and foot traffic to a corridor that has operated primarily as a drive-through destination. The public boardwalk component in particular has drawn some support even from those skeptical of the project's residential scale, because it would open waterfront access that has been essentially privatized for decades.
The opposing view, held by the Cliff Drive and Kings Road homeowners who would look down at the rooftops of the new buildings, is that Newport Village at 35 feet changes the fundamental character of the view corridor in a way that cannot be undone. Once those buildings are built, the harbor views from those residential streets are gone.
Moshayedi's position is that the land is his to develop, and that the current uses, a collection of aging marine businesses on underutilized parcels, are not a permanent condition just because they have existed long enough to feel like one. "Everyone has the right to build something on their property," he said at the 2019 meeting. "If I build a one-story building it's going to be in someone's view."
The tension between those two positions, the developer's property rights and the neighbors' invested view expectations, is exactly the kind of conflict that Newport Beach's entitlement process is designed to adjudicate slowly and carefully. It is why Newport Village, filed in various forms since 2016, was still working through the EIR process nearly a decade after the first application.
Property Tax and Economic Impact
If Newport Village is ultimately approved and built, its financial impact on Newport Beach would be meaningful across several categories.
The Moshayedi family's existing land holdings along Mariners' Mile are already generating property tax revenue based on their assembled purchase prices totaling more than $130 million. When the project is developed, those assessed values would be updated to reflect any new construction, and the 17 for-sale condominium units on the south parcel would be individually assessed at their sale prices, generating ongoing property tax revenue for the city each time a unit changes hands.
The 181 rental apartment units, if retained in the Moshayedi portfolio, would be assessed as a portfolio asset. Newport Beach waterfront rental units at this location would likely command premium rents. At market rents of $4,000 to $7,000 per month for units in a new waterfront community on PCH, the annual rental income from the apartment component alone could approach $10 to $15 million.
The 63,285 square feet of commercial space, divided among office, retail, and restaurant, would add a new commercial tax base in a corridor where retail sales tax is currently modest. A new restaurant cluster with waterfront promenade access, drawing from both the residential base and the existing Newport Harbor visitor traffic, could generate meaningful new sales tax for the city as well.
The waterfront boardwalk, while not directly revenue-producing for the city, represents a public amenity investment that could enhance property values for surrounding real estate, including residential properties on the harbor side.
Affordable Housing and AMI
Newport Village includes 9 income-restricted units out of 181 rental apartments, all designated for very-low-income households. These 9 units are the basis for the project's 20 percent density bonus request under California housing law, which allows developers to build at higher densities when affordable units are included.
Newport Beach uses Orange County Area Median Income for affordability calculations, not city-level or statewide figures. Orange County's 2025 AMI for a family of four was $169,200. Very-low-income households are those earning at or below 50 percent of AMI, or approximately $84,600 for a family of four. A two-bedroom unit at 50 percent AMI would be rent-capped at approximately $1,903 per month.
Nine units at those rent levels represent a genuine but modest affordable contribution from a 198-unit project. The remaining 189 units, both the 172 market-rate apartments and the 17 for-sale condos, will be priced at Newport Beach waterfront market rates.
For context, market-rate one-bedroom apartments in new waterfront construction in Newport Beach have been asking $3,500 to $5,500 per month. The 17 waterfront condominiums on the south parcel, with harbor views and direct boardwalk access, could be priced significantly higher, possibly in the $2 million to $5 million range given the site's location and scarcity.
Where Things Stand
As of mid-2026, Newport Village remains in the environmental review and entitlement process. The EIR Notice of Preparation was issued in October 2023. The draft EIR, which was anticipated for Spring/Summer 2024, would trigger a formal public comment period before a final EIR can be certified. Planning Commission hearings on the project were anticipated for late 2024 and into 2025.
Even after Planning Commission action, the project would likely require City Council review and then California Coastal Commission sign-off on the Coastal Development Permit and bulkhead changes before any construction could begin. Given the project's complexity and the organized opposition, the Coastal Commission process is expected to be contentious in its own right.
The Moshayedi family has now been pursuing this project in various forms for nearly a decade. That persistence is not simply stubbornness. The family owns the land outright, carries no immediate pressure to sell, and continues to generate income from existing tenants on the assembled parcels. They can afford to wait out the process in a way that a developer carrying acquisition debt cannot.
"The area is a good long-term investment," Manouch Moshayedi said years ago. "These are one-of-a-kind properties." On that point, almost no one disagrees. What remains contested is exactly what those properties should become, and who gets to decide.
