DANA POINT : Stein-Brief Group Scales Down Plan

Gone are the plans for a grandiose, 27,000-square-foot headquarters for the Stein-Brief Group at the upscale corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Ritz Carlton Drive.

Because of the poor economy and a shift to new ventures, South County developers Barry Brief and David Stein have come up with a more modest plan for the corner spot now occupied by a cottage housing Monarch Beach Realty.

The Dana Point City Council recently approved an amendment to the city General Plan that allows a 12,600-square-foot building to be located on the space. The project must still be approved by the California Coastal Commission.

Robert Theel, a spokesman for Brief and Stein, said the new building has been designed by Laguna Beach architect Morris Skenderian and will house a mixture of uses rather than be exclusively office space.

“The previous project was very controversial, extremely contemporary,” Theel said. “It was eventually approved, but it was a battle. . . . This project has been relatively easy. “

The new project has been patterned after the nearby Ritz-Carlton hotel, Theel said, noting it will be two stories, with retail space on the ground floor and office space and a restaurant upstairs.

Monarch Beach Realty is expected to occupy one of the offices, with the Stein-Brief Group housed in another space.

Theel said ground could be broken on the project in six months.

Once major developers in the South County, Brief and Stein have adopted a lower profile in the past few years. Stein, a former activist with the Democratic Party in the county, spends most of his time in Europe while Brief continues to live in Laguna Beach.