The newest office tower planned for the Irvine Spectrum is expected to gain attention for more than its size.
Newport Beach-based Irvine Company is aiming to build “an iconic structure” in the heart of the Spectrum with its design of the 8055 Irvine Center Drive office tower, according to filings with Irvine’s planning department.
The glass-sheathed building would stand apart from other towers in the area, and its construction would provide a good reminder of Spectrum’s growing role as a center for jobs and entertainment, according to city filings.
Irvine’s planning commission was scheduled to hold a meeting about the proposed office last week after the Business Journal went to press.
The proposed office is slated to be the largest tower in the Spectrum, running 20 stories and 450,000 square feet.
Other towers at the Spectrum top out at 15 stories.
Don’t expect more travertine at the new office. The design “moves away from the mix of stone, concrete and glass found on the existing nearby office buildings,” according to city planning department filings.
The office would feature “a contemporary design, entirely skinned by large glass windows and prominent steel window frames for architectural interest,” the city filing said.
Construction
Irvine Co. executives said in May that construction of the office—which would also include a five-story, 1,465-space parking garage—could commence around the end of the summer. That assumes the project gets the city’s approval and the developer decides the timing is right to proceed with a speculative office development in the area.
The landlord’s other four Spectrum office towers are about 95% leased, according to brokerage data.
Construction at 8055 Irvine Center Drive would be the first office tower built in the Spectrum in seven years.
The Spectrum has seen its share of other development of late, with apartments, homes, shops and a hotel either going up or in the works for land surrounding the namesake shopping center, which itself is getting a heavy dose of redevelopment and new construction.
“The architecture and the prominence of the building is intended to create an iconic structure within (the Spectrum), which is a significant employment center and regional entertainment center,” city filings said.
The 6.6-acre site of the planned development is between the Spectrum shopping center and The Village apartment complex. The land is currently used for parking for other offices on Irvine Center Drive.
