New Apartments planned for Irvine Market Place

[iacrenter]

Irvine Co. plans apartments at outdoor shopping center
Eyes up to 1,400 units at Market Place on boundary of Tustin, Irvine.

https://therealdeal.com/la/2022/04/13/irvine-co-plans-apartments-at-outdoor-shopping-center/

The Newport-Beach-based developer proposed building up to 1,400 residential units within The Market Place at 2961 El Camino Real in Tustin, the Orange County Business Journal reported.

The outdoor shopping center, which straddles Tustin and Irvine, has more than 120 stores, restaurants, cafes and theaters, and is the fifth-largest in the county.


The company got a nod from the City of Irvine last month that it could apply for a General Plan Amendment for 79 acres within the Irvine portion of the shopping center, east of Jamboree Road and north of the Santa Ana Freeway. The Tustin portion wasn’t included in the housing plan.

The Irvine Co. has not released plans for the site. High-density apartments, like those built by the firm at Irvine Spectrum Center and Fashion Island, appear likely, unidentified sources told the newspaper.

Given approval, the residential units added to The Market Place would follow thousands of others being built around Orange County shopping centers such as the Brea Mall, Outlets at Orange, the MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana, and Westminster Mall.

Similar housing plans have been filed for malls in Los Angeles.

The Irvine Co. housing proposal reflects the changing demands of younger residents, rather than an attempt to backfill any empty space at the center, according to documents filed with the city.

The project would result in a “residential lifestyle focused on sustainable frameworks including placing residents within walking distance to major employers and amenities like restaurants, shopping, and entertainment,” the filings said.

City backers say such a product is essential for Orange County’s fastest-growing city to keep its economic edge.

Greater Irvine Chamber of Commerce members cite “housing near jobs” as the No. 1 priority to attracting and retaining top-tier talent, said Brian Starr, its president and CEO. This is especially true for recent graduates entering the workforce.

The Irvine Co. proposal is very much in the early stages. Any public hearing for the project likely wouldn’t be held until mid-2023, city filings say, and may depend on an environmental review

The Market Place, which opened in 1988, brought in nearly $500 million in taxable sales for the 12 months ended June 30, according to Business Journal data, and includes one of the nation’s first Amazon Fresh grocery stores. It’s Irvine Co.’s second-largest center by taxable sales behind Fashion Island.

[Cares]

By then it'll be only $4000 for a 2 bedroom.

[Kangen.Irvine]

Mixed use, if done correctly, will be a great addition to any retail center. Give people a reason to use their cars less.

[HMart]

That's great. I would love to retire in a place like that when I'm way older. Would also be a nice place to put in-laws in a serviced apartment. I don't think there are any units INSIDE a shopping center like what's planned here nearby. The closest is Americana? I guess Bella Terra kinda counts sorta.

I still remember watching movies at that Edwards as a kid....and just being a mall rat there. There was a bookstore there too....good times.

[Kangen.Irvine]

Didn’t think about the retirement living and I definitely agree. Mixed use is usually mentioned for those in their twenties, but I could see value for 70s+. Could be a similar opportunity in the Woodbridge Village Center with its close proximity to senior living.

[The California Court Company]

Probably the area right to 5, and/or near the end of El Camino Real…
Not a bad idea to high buildings to block and shield the freeway noise

[OCtoSV]

Anyone on this board familiar with Santana Row in San Jose, adjacent to Valley Fair, the highest grossing mall in the country? They pioneered the mixed use concept, and it's a winner. OC is way behind the times but this development should be a home run, other than the sick congestion it will create on Jamboree which was already congested in the early 90s. I can't imagine what it's like now.

[irvinehomeowner]

Residents in older cities are resistant to mixed-use housing/retail but that's just because they don't know any better.

This type of setup is win all around as you see more of these types of properties popping up.

When Spectrum first opened years ago, it was dead for a few years and now they can't put up enough apartments.

The east side of the Marketplace is a good location because there is an Amazon Fresh on that side.

[Ready2Downsize]

I'll bet this is part of Irvine's required plan to build affordable housing. Some might be market rate but most likely you'll be living with lots of below market rate units.

[The California Court Company]

it is win win situation to build high density, affordable housing around the freeways (which Irvine has plenty, 5/405/261/241/133/73).

[CalBears96]

Anyone on this board familiar with Santana Row in San Jose, adjacent to Valley Fair, the highest grossing mall in the country? They pioneered the mixed use concept, and it's a winner. OC is way behind the times but this development should be a home run, other than the sick congestion it will create on Jamboree which was already congested in the early 90s. I can't imagine what it's like now.

Yeah, I remember Santana Row opening up around 2003 time frame, a couple of years before we moved south from San Jose.

[iacrenter]

Say goodbye to 24HR Fitness, Barnes & Noble, and Hobby Lobby @ Irvine Market Place

Irvine Co. plans 2,500 new apartments to help Irvine meet state mandates

https://www.ocregister.com/2022/07/01/irvine-co-plans-2500-new-apartments-to-help-irvine-meet-state-mandates/

By JONATHAN LANSNER | jlansner@scng.com | Orange County Register
PUBLISHED: July 1, 2022 at 6:24 p.m. | UPDATED: July 1, 2022 at 7:11 p.m.
Giant landowner Irvine Co. says it’s willing to help Irvine meet its state housing mandate by building up to 2,500 apartments with rents more in line with local wages.

The city recently finished its housing plan, which includes adding roughly 20,000 new units by 2029. Irvine Co., the county’s largest landlord, is now starting the process to get city approval for three new apartment complexes at sites identified in the city’s homebuilding commitment.

Irvine Co. provided no costs or specifications for the apartments it’s proposing to build. However, any developer thinking about less-expensive units would likely target denser communities with smaller-sized units.

“These are mixed-use districts where residents will have immediate access to employment, shopping and transportation infrastructure,” Jeff Davis, an Irvine Co. senior vice president, told a city hearing in March. “Meeting economic and quality of life needs for recent graduates, young professionals and essential service workers — all within the community framework of a new mixed-use setting.”

Switch in plans
In the northern part of the city, Irvine Co. wants to put 1,400 units where it would demolish an underused slice of The Market Place retail center between Bryan Avenue and El Camino Real.

The site shares a parking lot with the center’s movie theater and is home to vacant space, short-term leases, poorly performing merchants and tenants willing to relocate.

The company has previously been willing to take bold actions with its retail space. At the Irvine Spectrum shopping center, it bought out the lease of retail anchor Macy’s in 2016, bulldozing the traditional department store and replacing it with smaller buildings in a collection of trendier merchants.

The developer’s other new rental site is further south in the city and a few blocks north of its Spectrum Center. Irvine Co. says it’s willing to construct up to 1,100 apartment units on two vacant plots at Gateway and Pacifica, both of which are zoned for commercial development such as offices.

Now you may be thinking “office is dead” and it’s a no-brainer switch for the land.

Don’t overlook Irvine Co.’s against-the-grain thinking, which has produced surprising results in two new office projects in Irvine in the pandemic era: Spectrum Terrace, off the 405, and Innovation Office Park, off the 5.

Long process
Please note these proposals won’t provide any quick cure for apartment hunters. If city approval is obtained next year, new units would not hit the market until 2025.

Construction requires city leaders to rezone a slice of a shopping center and land designated for offices. Most cities’ general plans are like living documents, adjusting over the years.

Altering development guidelines to meet current needs, however, often becomes political minefields. That debate can indefinitely stall developments that upset a slice of the voting public.

There’s little doubt local renters could use a break.

By one count, Orange County’s typical rent of $2,632 — up 18% in a year — was the second-highest among U.S. counties in June. ApartmentList.com ranked Orange County right behind Manhattan (New York County) at $2,833 and just ahead of Napa ($2,555), Santa Clara ($2,549) and Honolulu ($2,534).

But if Orange County wants to make any significant progress on creating less-than-expensive rental options, it means numerous folks on both sides of the apartment-creation machine have to rethink how they do business. In Irvine, the idea is to put rentals at new hot spots for apartments — more urban, busy locales at or near shopping and job centers.

Yes, these projects have a good shot at becoming reality as cities across the state feel the state’s housing push. Such mandates put cities across the state in a tough spot, though, often angering voters who think cities are already crowded while pitting needs for housing and sales tax revenue against each other.

Producing housing is tough when developable land is rare, and lightly used retail spaces becomes an ideal target for redevelopment. Yet fears of shrunken tax collections give certain city leaders an excuse to be skeptical of such conversions.

In Irvine, new apartments would mean a modest loss of sales taxes collected by the merchants currently occupying the Market Place shopping space. However, won’t adding 1,400 housing units be a sales boost to the remaining retailers next door?

Another reason these Irvine sites have a decent chance of making it through the development approval process is the neighbors.

Both sites are next to apartment dwellers and other commercial properties. Rental projects frequently run into roadblocks when nearby homeowners find all sorts of odd objections.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com

[RibEye]

Say goodbye to 24HR Fitness, Barnes & Noble, and Hobby Lobby @ Irvine Market Place

Does anyone know if the 24 Hour is definitely closing, or if there are plans to relocate?

[USCTrojanCPA]

Say goodbye to 24HR Fitness, Barnes & Noble, and Hobby Lobby @ Irvine Market Place

Does anyone know if the 24 Hour is definitely closing, or if there are plans to relocate?

Yeah, sounds like they are closing it.  I'm gonna join EOS.

[RibEye]

Yeah, sounds like they are closing it.  I'm gonna join EOS.

Thanks. This 24 is so convenient since it's a 5 minute drive from home (whereas the one on Irvine Center Drive is about 15 minutes from home, and the one on Anton in Costa Mesa is about 20 minutes away).

I'd consider switching gyms, but I like the fact I can go late at night, or early in the morning, to avoid the crowds.