Santa Ana charter school Vista Meridian Global Academy is looking to open a new high school at a Costa Mesa office park, after it gains approval from city officials.
Vista Meridian late last year held meetings with the Costa Mesa Planning Commission to discuss turning a 37,455-square-foot office space at 1620 Sunflower Ave. into a school for 500 students.
The school said the project, located a few blocks north of the San Diego (405) Freeway, received positive initial responses from the commission’s office, but faced opposition during the hearing.
Part of the opposition references an ongoing national debate over charter schools and whether they take money away from district schools.
Don Wilson, superintendent of Vista Charter Public Schools, clarified that charter schools are free public schools that receive per-pupil-funding from the state.
“In California, the money follows the student,” Wilson told the Business Journal.
The school has worked out a long-term lease with the building’s owner Tim Nguyen, founder of Costa Mesa financial services software maker MeridianLink Inc. (NYSR: MLNK), which is contingent on receiving the conditional use permit from the city.
Terms of the agreement were undisclosed “out of respect to the owner,” according to Wilson.
The school hopes to gain city approval by Jan. 16, so it can get to work installing necessary upgrades in time to open next fall, top officials at the school said.
Premier Location
The charter school plans to set up the high school in an area of Costa Mesa that has seen a high amount of real estate activity as of late.
The two-story office building where the school is looking to lease, part of a two-building complex, is directly across the street from high-end shopping center South Coast Collection, or SoCo, which sold for a reported $110 million to Baltimore-based Continental Realty Corp. in November.
Nearby is the development site for One Metro West, a 16-acre mixed-use project set to break ground in late 2024 or the first quarter of 2025, according to company officials. It would be built at the current site of an industrial building that sits alongside the 405 Freeway that’s leased to Sakura Paper. It was sold late last year by local businessman Joe Wen for a reported $72 million.
The move into Costa Mesa will prove beneficial not only for the school, but also the city, Wilson said.
“I think having a school with 500 families attending will bring a positive economic impact to the surrounding businesses,” Wilson said.
Career Pathways
This will be Vista Charter Public Schools’ fifth school.
Vista Charter Public Schools was founded in 2010 and currently serves students in Los Angeles, Anaheim and Santa Ana.
Vista Charter Public Schools opened its first middle school in Los Angeles before expanding to include elementary and high school levels.
“Our goal has always been providing an education for kids from transitional kindergarten all the way through high school,” Wilson said.
The Santa Ana location for Vista Meridian Global Academy was built to serve pre-kindergarten through eighth grade students, but has also temporarily doubled as a high school for freshman, sophomore and junior students.
This new building in Costa Mesa will allow the charter school to establish an official high school for these students.
The countywide charter petition for Vista Meridian Global Academy was approved by the Orange County Board of Education on June 1, 2022.
Many of Vista Charter Public Schools’ students are economically disadvantaged, according to top officials.
The school aims to provide its students with career pathways in fields that are harder to break into such as cybersecurity and biomedical sciences.
Vista Charter Public Schools partnered with local colleges Santa Ana College and Orange Coast College so students can earn credits toward an associate degree in these fields while in high school.
Director of counseling, college and careers Catherine Real, who previously served as principal of Vista Meridian Global Academy, also helps facilitate internships for students.
MeridianLink Ties
The building was originally intended to be used by MeridianLink, founded by Nguyen, who owns both buildings in the industrial park.
Nguyen bought the property for $9.4 million back in April 2019, filings indicate.
Shortly after the purchase, the building sat vacant due to the pandemic, and MeridianLink employees working remotely from home.
The software company has its headquarters at another office in the city.
Vista Charter Public Schools met Nguyen through the philanthropic work he does through eKadence Learning Foundation, which provides schools with systems management software for free.
“He had an empty office building that he put significant capital into and wanted to give back to the community,” Colin Felch, deputy superintendent of Vista Charter Public Schools, said.
School officials say the space is a perfect fit because of the collaborative setting that will prepare students for the “kinds of places they be working at in four to eight years.”
Some of the building’s amenities include a cafeteria, multiple gymnasiums and an indoor tennis court.
