Construction on Aerie, an ultra-luxury condominium development in Corona del Mar more than 10 years in the making, is about to start.
The oceanfront project, headed by Irvine-based Advanced Real Estate Services Inc., held a groundbreaking event last week. More extensive development work, including the demolition of a “dilapidated” 15-unit apartment complex on the site, is expected to begin just before Labor Day.
Plans call for a late 2016 completion for Aerie, which is near the intersection of Ocean Boulevard and Carnation Avenue.
The old apartment complex will make way for the seven-unit condominium complex, with each unit running 3,000 square feet to 6,500 square feet.
Buyers of the condos could well come from the entries seen on this week’s Business Journal list of Orange County’s wealthiest residents. Homes at the Brion Jeannette-designed project could have values of $11 million to $16 million, according to ARES President Richard Julian.
The company paid about $12 million for the property in 2008, according to property records. The project got final approvals from the California Coastal Commission in early 2013.
Julian, whose company owns and manages several thousand apartments in California, said he plans to live in one of the units, which overlook Newport Harbor.
The residences will share amenities, including a swimming pool and a 3,000-square-foot lounge with a commercial kitchen, gym and wine cellar.
Brandywine Sale
A new apartment complex built in southern Garden Grove by Irvine-based Brandywine Homes has traded hands.
Cobblestone Apartments, a 34-unit complex near Hope Street and Westminster Avenue that opened this year, sold to a private investor in Newport Beach, according to property records.
Brokerage data show the infill project on 1.1 acres sold for just under $11 million, or about $322,000 per apartment.
The seller declined to comment.
The complex was one of the first rental properties built by the single-family homebuilder, which began moving into the apartment development business last year.
Cobblestone’s mix of flats and townhomes opened in April. It was about 90% leased at the time of its sale, according to brokerage data. Monthly rents run from about $1,460 for one-bedroom units to nearly $2,300 for three-bedroom units.
CPW Switch
Plans for a long-proposed office building at the Central Park West development in Irvine are being scrapped.
A 90,000-square-foot office had been planned for the northwest corner of Jamboree Road and Michelson Drive since the mixed-use project’s inception nearly a decade ago, although a time frame for construction was never given.
Recent documents filed with Irvine’s planning commission show the office project will be removed from the master development plan for the 43-acre site.
More homes and slightly more retail space now appear to be slated for the now-vacant land at the Lennar Corp.-led development, which has had a heavy amount of residential construction this year.
The project—along the San Diego (405) Freeway and less than a mile from John Wayne Airport—was envisioned as the first urban masterplanned community in the Irvine Business Complex, the largely commercial area surrounding the airport.
Central Park West was initially expected to hold about 1,380 homes upon build-out. About half that had been built as of February.
Stanton Starts
Irvine-based Melia Homes said it has begun a 20-home development in Stanton.
The infill project, called Harmony, is going up a few blocks from the intersection of Katella Avenue and Knott Avenue. Sales are expected to begin early this fall.
The detached homes will be close to 2,500 square feet and priced close to $700,000, Melia said.
Harmony is one of a handful of new-home projects moving ahead in Stanton. Another Irvine-based builder, MBK Homes, opened Jacaranda in March. The 45-home infill community near Beach Boulevard and Ball Road is the largest new-home project in Stanton in nearly three years.
