What do you want to ask the Irvine Company?

[quote author="ABC123" date=1248416280]When is TIC going to move away from the Mediterranean/Tuscan theme? I would like to see a different style of architecture.



Can you please tell the city to allow trees to grow to maturity before ripping them out and replacing them with seedlings?



I appreciate the decision not to develop the land near Jeffrey/405, but please don't turn Laguna Crossing into a dense suburban sprawl.</blockquote>


Tuscan and mediteranean theme allow the maximum flexibilities of floor plans and garage forward configuration. Other styles like Colonial dictate the floor plan too much and considered bad for product development.
 
[quote author="Anonymous" date=1248398558]Questions for Dan Young:



1. What is your forecast for the housing market in Irvine? What are your price predictions? How long will it take before the market begins to recover?

2. What types of housing do you foresee building and selling in Irvine in the near term? (ex. smaller attached condos, SFR or whatever)? Which market segments will be hot and you will be building? Which ones will be slow and so you will postpone building?

3. How is the commercial space doing? Are a lot of new businesses moving to Irvine? Which new ones are here? What are the employment in Irvine projections? Which sectors (ex. finance or cars or healthcare or whatever) are gaining tenants and which are losing tenants?

4. The Great Park plans look cool, but how long is that going to take to build? Are the plans still the same?

5. Who is the genius namer? No one but TIC could come up with a prestigious but accurate name like "El Toro stone" for torn up airport runway concrete at the Great Park. Who comes up with all the great sounding TIC names, an ex-poet or something?



P.S. The Quail Meadows rental office team is fantastic, they are a pleasure to deal with whenever I go in there. Just an FYI :).</blockquote>


These are softball questions



1. We are in it for the long term. Prices have bottomed. A while

2. SFD, first time home buyer. Luxury is slow.

3. Terrible. No. Not good. Everyone across the board.

4. ......why would you ask this question when this is a lennar / city deal? Go ask them in Lennarhousingblog.com

5. ......again, el toro stone is a great park thing, go ask lennar or city staff. Marketing comes up with the names just like every other company does.
 
[quote author="bkshopr" date=1248422458]Tuscan and mediteranean theme allow the maximum flexibilities of floor plans and garage forward configuration. Other styles like Colonial dictate the floor plan too much and considered bad for product development.</blockquote>
In terms of garage forward, kinda. Tuscan and mediterranean themes obviously didn't originally include garage forward, obviously, since they are much older than cars. It's just that living in a county full of faux-mediterranean homes with garage forward we're kind of used to it. Colonial style with garage forward looks strange still, I'll grant. But I don't see restrictions on the floor plans. I've seen lots of colonial and New England style houses, especially in the IE, with typically and highly variable "suburban modern" interiors.
 
[quote author="tkaratz" date=1248522524][quote author="Anonymous" date=1248398558]Questions for Dan Young:



1. What is your forecast for the housing market in Irvine? What are your price predictions? How long will it take before the market begins to recover?

2. What types of housing do you foresee building and selling in Irvine in the near term? (ex. smaller attached condos, SFR or whatever)? Which market segments will be hot and you will be building? Which ones will be slow and so you will postpone building?

3. How is the commercial space doing? Are a lot of new businesses moving to Irvine? Which new ones are here? What are the employment in Irvine projections? Which sectors (ex. finance or cars or healthcare or whatever) are gaining tenants and which are losing tenants?

4. The Great Park plans look cool, but how long is that going to take to build? Are the plans still the same?

5. Who is the genius namer? No one but TIC could come up with a prestigious but accurate name like "El Toro stone" for torn up airport runway concrete at the Great Park. Who comes up with all the great sounding TIC names, an ex-poet or something?



P.S. The Quail Meadows rental office team is fantastic, they are a pleasure to deal with whenever I go in there. Just an FYI :).</blockquote>


These are softball questions



1. We are in it for the long term. Prices have bottomed. A while

2. SFD, first time home buyer. Luxury is slow.

3. Terrible. No. Not good. Everyone across the board.

4. ......why would you ask this question when this is a lennar / city deal? Go ask them in Lennarhousingblog.com

5. ......again, el toro stone is a great park thing, go ask lennar or city staff. Marketing comes up with the names just like every other company does.</blockquote>


You answered those questions like an experienced developer...
 
Any question is an easy question if you answer it like a politician (ie. just change the topic for the hard ones, give vague answers for the easy ones). Hopefully, I will get real answers though. Would also like to add:



6. What is up with the huge houses with 5-6 bedrooms and only 2 or maybe 3 parking garage spots? Anyone with family big enough to fit all the bedrooms (ex. have parents or grown up kids living with them) is going to need more parking. Also, why are there so may unusable garage spots (ex. tandem?). Saw a Shady Canyon mansion listing with only 3 garage spots once. What's up with that? Who is going to have enough cash to buy a huge $5 million + house, but not want to have several nice cars as well? Seems like a disconnect.



[quote author="IrvineRenter" date=1248560201][quote author="tkaratz" date=1248522524][quote author="Anonymous" date=1248398558]Questions for Dan Young:



1. What is your forecast for the housing market in Irvine? What are your price predictions? How long will it take before the market begins to recover?

2. What types of housing do you foresee building and selling in Irvine in the near term? (ex. smaller attached condos, SFR or whatever)? Which market segments will be hot and you will be building? Which ones will be slow and so you will postpone building?

3. How is the commercial space doing? Are a lot of new businesses moving to Irvine? Which new ones are here? What are the employment in Irvine projections? Which sectors (ex. finance or cars or healthcare or whatever) are gaining tenants and which are losing tenants?

4. The Great Park plans look cool, but how long is that going to take to build? Are the plans still the same?

5. Who is the genius namer? No one but TIC could come up with a prestigious but accurate name like "El Toro stone" for torn up airport runway concrete at the Great Park. Who comes up with all the great sounding TIC names, an ex-poet or something?



P.S. The Quail Meadows rental office team is fantastic, they are a pleasure to deal with whenever I go in there. Just an FYI :).</blockquote>


These are softball questions



1. We are in it for the long term. Prices have bottomed. A while

2. SFD, first time home buyer. Luxury is slow.

3. Terrible. No. Not good. Everyone across the board.

4. ......why would you ask this question when this is a lennar / city deal? Go ask them in Lennarhousingblog.com

5. ......again, el toro stone is a great park thing, go ask lennar or city staff. Marketing comes up with the names just like every other company does.</blockquote>


You answered those questions like an experienced developer...</blockquote>
 
Developers have been having trouble selling new construction for some time now. However, the available units in phase one of Woodbury East's Ivy development, which has condos of approximately 1100 to 1500 square feet and prices that matched the smaller size, sold out shortly after the grand opening. With this in mind, will the Irvine Company be putting more emphasis on developing smaller and, therefore, more affordable homes in the near future? This is an option that is currently sparse in Orange County and not given much attention during the building-boom years.



Also, (and this is the question that I am most interested in) who were the buyers of these Ivy homes: young families, young professionals, empty nesters, investors?



In addition, do you think the main selling point of the Ivy homes in Irvine was the smaller size and, therefore, more affordable price? If so, do you think that this strategy would work as well in other Orange County cities? Does the Irvine Company have any of these smaller, more affordable options on the drawing boards for other Orange County cities or other Irvine locations?



Finally, if you think that the smaller and more affordable feature was not the main selling point, what other feature do you think made the Ivy condos so desirable?



Thank you for the opportunity to ask these questions.
 
Enough with the softball questions! It is time to get down and dirty with TIC and bring up some history.



In the early 90s when the market continued to tank (and didn't bottom until 96) you pitched the affordability product of the condo (especially since you took over some condo builders at the time), and sales for condos went up since interest rates were down. Many of those who bought then got screwed in the coming years. It sounds like you are repeating yourself with Ivy. Good job! But I feel sorry for the buyers there.



Also, you delayed Newport Coast during this time, much like you are delaying Orchard Hills, both of which you knew had high demand but not at the current WTF prices. When you got around to releasing the Newport Coast condos and SFRs in the mid-90s, you screwed the buyers of the early 90s in West Park and Tustin Ranch with your price point for a premium location being way... way lower than what they paid. Do you see this happening again? Or are you actually willing to wait for the market to come back? Because if you do... and as history shows... you are going to be developing Orchard Hills some time in 2018. I'm not kidding, history shows this is where prices will be for you to match them.



And... one final note: I understand why you maximize land value, and stuff as many stucco boxes as you can on the land, but for the love of all things holy... there are <strong>SEVERAL</strong> people here who want to have a decent lot with some freakin privacy. You think you have demand for the "affordability" product of Ivy... you bust out 1/4 acre lots, with single story homes with three car garages, with mello roos making the effective tax rate 1.5% (And for the love of gawd not have the garage as the focal point! Have you not learned anything from IHB?), then you have a huge buyer demographic. Maybe even me. Trust me... I may trash talk Irvine, but I know there are plenty of other people like me who would buy in Irvine. Sorry you couldn't get us for your surveys, we are just too busy and actually value family time.



You do realize that the higher the density, the higher likelihood the neighborhood will go to sh*t. Look at Park Watts, er I mean West, it is one of the most dense projects you have, and look at the surrounding neighborhood... it really is the worst of Irvine. Just look at how the units from the 80s and early 90s are holding up... you know it is not what you expected. So how can you expect the high density of the neighborhoods you are building now not be the same. Seriously... see Turtle Rock, it really has held it's value way more than any other community in Irvine. Why? Big lots with privacy. Do it... and you will make more money from the volume, but if you don't care about the future... then I understand... by then you will be done. Your hands will be clean.



<em>*Feel free to re-word my rant to TIC in a more professional manner. This is the forums, and I just tell it like it is.*</em>
 
graphrix,

<em>

<blockquote>And? one final note: I understand why you maximize land value, and stuff as many stucco boxes as you can on the land, but for the love of all things holy? there are SEVERAL people here who want to have a decent lot with some freakin privacy. You think you have demand for the ?affordability? product of Ivy? you bust out 1/4 acre lots, with single story homes with three car garages, with mello roos making the effective tax rate 1.5% (And for the love of gawd not have the garage as the focal point! Have you not learned anything from IHB?), then you have a huge buyer demographic. Maybe even me. Trust me? I may trash talk Irvine, but I know there are plenty of other people like me who would buy in Irvine. Sorry you couldn?t get us for your surveys, we are just too busy and actually value family time.</em></blockquote>


What do you think would be a reasonable price for the type of home in Irvine that you are suggesting here?



By the way, I am with you on the not-having-the-garage-as-the-focal-point issue.
 
How do you decide the median housing price in Irvine (per SF or per Door), in the process for TIC to maximize the land value?
 
[quote author="ABC123" date=1248416280]When is TIC going to move away from the Mediterranean/Tuscan theme? I would like to see a different style of architecture.



Can you please tell the city to allow trees to grow to maturity before ripping them out and replacing them with seedlings?



I appreciate the decision not to develop the land near Jeffrey/405, but please don't turn Laguna Crossing into a dense suburban sprawl.</blockquote>


In the same line of question. What are the plans for green development or housing with LEED certification? Los Angeles is passing a law that states any building over 7,500 sqf needs to be LEED silver certified. Anything like this in the works?
 
I know profit is important to any company, but taking the "vision" of the ranch into mind, what is the goal for the remaining housing communities of Irvine? Seems to me that profit is overshadowing the ability to create unique communities that will stand the test of time.



I feel that "density" projects can be found almost anywhere in the OC, the one commodity that many places in the OC lack is privacy and a feeling of openess. This is a value that TIC has the potential to take advantage of, but seems lost due to maximizing land value. I know Orchard Hills tries to address this but the previous planning maps were mainly keeping large avocado fields in the middle of the project rather than having them spread inbetween homes. Giving more home buyers that privacy "feel" and openness rather than just having that "feel" as you drive up to your home on your 4000sq ft lot, surrounded by neighbors every 10 feet.



As USC already mentioned.. Why have CFDs levied on housing units skyrocketed over the past few years while density has also increased?
 
I'd like to ask if any additional land in Irvine would be preserved for agricultural uses?



Any chance of replicating Lake Mission Viejo style development in Irvine? We could use a big lake and each HOA could vote to join the "Irvine Lake association" if they wish to do so (for additional fee).



If not, then for future high-density projects, could you possibly replicate Woodbridge?
 
[quote author="momopi" date=1248702532]

Any chance of replicating Lake Mission Viejo style development in Irvine? We could use a big lake and each HOA could vote to join the "Irvine Lake association" if they wish to do so (for additional fee).



If not, then for future high-density projects, could you possibly replicate Woodbridge?</blockquote>
Hey.... isn't Woodbridge our Lake Mission Viejo development?



I honestly don't think that any developer in SoCal today will "waste" land with a man-made lake. The expense would be just too high and think about all those 3-car garages you would have to sacrifice.
 
[quote author="irvine_home_owner" date=1248732790][quote author="momopi" date=1248702532]

Any chance of replicating Lake Mission Viejo style development in Irvine? We could use a big lake and each HOA could vote to join the "Irvine Lake association" if they wish to do so (for additional fee).



If not, then for future high-density projects, could you possibly replicate Woodbridge?</blockquote>
Hey.... isn't Woodbridge our Lake Mission Viejo development?



I honestly don't think that any developer in SoCal today will "waste" land with a man-made lake. The expense would be just too high and think about all those 3-car garages you would have to sacrifice.</blockquote>




Lake front homes = $$$!
 
[quote author="momopi" date=1248734781]

Lake front homes = $$$!</blockquote>
I don't think the price premium of living next to a "flake" will make up for the lost money of building more stucco boxes in that same space. The maintenance of a lake seems pretty costly... sure, they can pass that on to the HOA but it just seems like they would rather squeeze in more homes than a body of water. Plus I don't think the FCBs really have much desire for waterfront... just 99Ranch-front.



Maybe they'll have room for a "flake" over in the Great Park area.
 
Speaking of lakes, I never knew Lake Forest had a lake until I came across <a href="http://www.redfin.com/CA/Lake-Forest/21917-Erie-Ln-92630/home/4823266">this listing</a> and I never knew there were million dollar homes there either.
 
[quote author="ABC123" date=1248741767]Speaking of lakes, I never knew Lake Forest had a lake until I came across <a href="http://www.redfin.com/CA/Lake-Forest/21917-Erie-Ln-92630/home/4823266">this listing</a> and I never knew there were million dollar homes there either.</blockquote>


They used to be a Million Dollars at the top of the market. But not any longer.

That house has been on the market for a year.
 
[quote author="ABC123" date=1248741767]Speaking of lakes, I never knew Lake Forest had a lake until I came across <a href="http://www.redfin.com/CA/Lake-Forest/21917-Erie-Ln-92630/home/4823266">this listing</a> and I never knew there were million dollar homes there either.</blockquote>


That is not a lake, it's a water-alley. If you can't get up on skis its not a lake.
 
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