By Eric Engelbert
San Juan Plaza: 278 Apartments Approved in a Five-Story Building Near Mission San Juan Capistrano
San Juan Capistrano is known for low-rise adobe buildings, a historic mission, and an annual swallow festival. So it surprised a lot of people when the City Council approved a five-story, 278-apartment building a short walk from the historic downtown. The project, called San Juan Plaza, will replace an older shopping center on Camino Capistrano between the Trader Joe's and Vons centers, near City Hall and a half mile from the train station.
It is the largest single residential building approved in the city in years. It also shows how much state housing law now shapes what gets built in a small historic town. Council members said openly that they wished it were smaller, but said their hands were largely tied.
This post covers what is on the site today, who has owned it, what was approved, why the building is as big as it is, and what is not yet known. For other South County projects, see my New Developments in Orange County page.
The Project at a Glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | San Juan Plaza |
| Address | 32211 to 32281 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano (near Camino Capistrano and Del Obispo Street) |
| Site | One parcel of about 3.7 acres, south of the historic downtown |
| Apartments | 278, in five unit types, in a five-story building of about 488,600 square feet |
| Affordable homes | 32 reserved for low-income tenants (about 14 percent of the units), under a 25 percent density bonus |
| Commercial space | About 15,300 square feet of ground-floor shops and restaurants |
| Parking | About 400 spaces in a five-level garage wrapped by the building |
| Other features | Exterior courtyards, a pedestrian promenade, and a rooftop deck |
| Owner and applicant | Winebright Capistrano, LLC |
| Status | Approved January 21, 2025. No groundbreaking or opening date announced. |
These are rental apartments, so when the building opens it will be a leasing story, not a sales story.
What Was There Before, and Who Has Owned It
The previous use. The site is an older shopping center that is also called San Juan Plaza. It is a single-level retail and office campus with surface parking, and it was marketed for lease in suites of roughly 1,000 to 3,800 square feet, with a large parking lot, a courtyard, and a location near City Hall and across town from the Mission. The city's report lists the existing tenants as an optometrist, a dental office, a photo lab, a barber shop, a beauty salon, a physical therapy center, a martial arts studio, a chiropractic center, a donut shop, and a Domino's Pizza. All of those buildings would be demolished.
The owner. The property is owned by Winebright Capistrano, LLC, a company based in Culver City. In its application, Winebright says it has owned the property for more than 45 years, which means the ownership goes back to around the late 1970s or earlier. For the redevelopment, it is working with two development partners, REthink Development and The Dinnerstein Company. I could not find who sold the property to Winebright, and the purchase price is not in any public record or news report I found. Because the ownership is so old, the original price would not tell you much about today's land value. The recorded deed at the Orange County Recorder would show the details.
What Was Approved
The building is a five-story structure of wood-frame apartments built around and over a five-level concrete parking garage, so from the street you see apartments and retail and not a garage. The apartments come in five unit types, with courtyards, a promenade connecting to the ground-floor shops, and a rooftop deck. The city's report says the retail space is intended for neighborhood-serving uses such as a cafe, an ice cream shop, or similar convenience retail, plus one or two restaurants or other retail tenants.
The project uses the state density bonus, increasing the number of homes by 25 percent in exchange for reserving 32 apartments, about 14 percent, for low-income tenants. Under the state's income limits at the time, a family of four counted as low-income with a combined income under $126,250.
Parking. The project includes about 400 on-site spaces. The city's own specific plan would require 458 spaces for a project of this size. But because the site is within a half mile of the train station, a state law allows a project like this to provide no parking at all, so the 400 spaces are a choice, not a requirement.
Why Could the City Not Make It Smaller?
This is the most important part of the story. The building does not exceed the city's height limit, and several state laws limit what a city can do. Because the site is close to major transit, the developer could have gone taller and skipped the parking entirely. Councilmember Howard Hart said that by state mandate they could have gone up to eight stories and 446 units with no parking, and that he was glad the developer did not. He added a line that sums up the mood: "don't hate the player, hate the game."
The city can generally apply only objective standards to a project like this. According to Voice of OC's reporting, officials cannot reduce a project's size just because they think it will not match the surrounding community. They can act only if there is evidence of a significant health or safety risk. The developer did work with the city's design review committee and the Planning Commission on visual changes, even though it was not required to.
The city also treated the site as part of its state-required housing plan. The city's report notes the San Juan Plaza site was included in the Housing Element, and the City Council had approved a general plan amendment for the site in April 2023.
How the Approval Played Out
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| April 2023 | City Council approves a general plan amendment that paves the way for the project |
| November 13, 2024 | Planning Commission approves the architectural control, grading plan modification, and tree removal permit after hours of discussion about design changes |
| Late 2024 | Supporters Alliance for Environmental Responsibility (SAFER) appeals, challenging the city's finding that the project is exempt from a full environmental review. Staff recommends denying the appeal. |
| January 21, 2025 | City Council denies the appeal and upholds the Planning Commission's approval. The city files its notice of exemption on January 23, 2025. |
| Now | No construction start date announced |
The city found the project exempt from the full environmental review process as an infill development project, which is why there was no environmental impact report like the one required for the Forster & El Camino project downtown.
The Reaction
Dozens of residents showed up at the Planning Commission and City Council meetings, and many sent letters. Their main concerns were traffic, parking, and height. They said the building does not fit the city's small-town feel and will worsen congestion on Camino Capistrano and in the nearby grocery store parking lots. One speaker at the council meeting said the city was tearing apart what used to be a quaint town.
Officials sympathized, but pointed to the rules. Planning Commissioner Tami Wilhelm said she hated the idea of a five-story building on Camino Capistrano, and told frustrated residents that most of the people they should be writing to are in Sacramento. Planning Commissioner Stan Braden, an architect, said the project is high quality and improving as the developer works with the city. Councilmember John Taylor said he had hoped for four stories but that the city needs the housing. Several officials described the project as a type of housing the city lacks.
A Realtor's Perspective: What This Could Mean for San Juan Capistrano
It is a big addition to a small rental market. San Juan Capistrano has had very few new apartment buildings of any size. A 278-unit building, with 32 affordable homes and the rest at market rate, would be a meaningful change in the rental supply, and it could draw renters who want to live near the downtown, the Mission, and the train station without owning a house. The developer of the separate Forster & El Camino project has described a similar audience: young professionals and long-time residents who might sell a larger home.
It counts toward the city's state mandate. San Juan Capistrano must plan for 1,054 new homes by 2029, including 173 low-income and 183 moderate-income units. The 32 affordable apartments here are a modest contribution toward the lower-income categories. The rest of the project falls under the above-moderate category, where the city is further ahead.
Timing is the question. The project has been approved for more than a year and a half, and I could not find a groundbreaking date, a financing announcement, or a leasing date. Large projects like this one can sit for a while after approval while owners and partners arrange financing and finalize construction plans, particularly with higher building costs. I would treat it as approved but not yet under construction until that changes.
Neighbors and nearby owners. If you live or own near Camino Capistrano and Del Obispo, expect construction traffic and several years of change if the project moves forward. The city's staff report and the approved plans spell out exactly what was permitted.
Key Numbers
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Apartments | 278 |
| Affordable apartments (low-income) | 32 (about 14%) |
| Stories | Five |
| Site size | About 3.7 acres |
| Building size | About 488,600 sq ft |
| Ground-floor commercial | About 15,300 sq ft |
| Parking provided / city specific plan requirement | About 400 / 458 spaces |
| Density bonus used | 25% |
| Owner of the site | Winebright Capistrano, LLC, for more than 45 years |
| What the state allowed (per Councilmember Hart) | Up to 8 stories, 446 units, zero parking |
| Planning Commission / City Council approvals | November 13, 2024 / January 21, 2025 |
| Purchase price and prior seller | Not found in public records |
| Groundbreaking and opening dates | Not announced |
Thinking about buying or selling in San Juan Capistrano? Call or text me at 949-430-7500, or see more on my New Developments in Orange County page.
