Newport Beach-based Olen Properties Corp. has withdrawn plans for building close to 900 apartments around John Wayne Airport in Irvine, the latest sign of a cooling market for local home developers.
Olen had filed plans with the city for three apartment projects in the commercial area around John Wayne Airport known as the Irvine Business Complex. Olen already owns the land and currently has low-rise office and industrial space there.
The decision to back away from the projects in the past month largely was because of the deteriorating housing sector, according to company officials.
The projects would have been Olen’s biggest housing development in Orange County. The company owns some 11,000 apartments across the country, primarily in Arizona, Florida and Las Vegas. It also counts some 6 million square feet of commercial space.
The Irvine plans could be revived if conditions improve, according to Olen officials.
The developer also expressed frustration with the Irvine Planning Commission for its slow pace of issuing guidelines for projects in the area.
For more on this story, see the Dec. 17 issue of the Business Journal.
