The final significant phase of development at Irvine’s Central Park West community has begun, and a pair of additional large residential sites planned in the vicinity of John Wayne Airport are up for sale, which in total could add more than 800 new apartments and homes to the airport area.
After sitting vacant and fenced off for over a decade, a parcel of land owned by homebuilder Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) near the intersection of Jamboree Road and Michelson Drive has seen a heavy amount of groundwork in recent weeks.
The site, once eyed for a sizeable retail project in addition to homes, near the start of the year was approved for 285 residential units in a mid-sized complex, along with a slimmed down amount of accessory retail, totaling about 10,000 square feet.
A bridge that would connect the site to the Park Place complex on the other side of Jamboree Road is also expected to be built eventually.
The site now seeing groundwork is the last significant undeveloped portion of the roughly 43-acre Central Park West site. The final addition would be the tallest structure at the complex, besides the two-tower, 240-unit Astoria apartment complex on the other end of the development.
Central Park West is entitled for 1,275 homes. Most of the other units at the site have been built.
Starpoint Duo
Elsewhere in the vicinity of the airport, two notable multifamily projects yet to break ground have hit the market.
The two projects have been in the works for several years and are entitled for north of 560 residences in separate endeavors. Newport Beach entitlement specialist and brokerage Starpointe Ventures has the listing for both sites.
They include the Airport Village project in Newport Beach along MacArthur Blvd., and a luxury condominium site called Blue Bay, on McGaw Ave. in Irvine.
Airport Village is expected to include up to 444 apartments and nearly 300,000-square-feet of commercial space on 16 acres. Retail, office and other airport supporting uses are being considered for the commercial component.
Blue Bay is entitled for 120 luxury condos, and would be about a block from the Diamond Jamboree shopping center.
Starpointe, which has led the entitlement of over 17,000 residential units, is listing Airport Village residential site on behalf of Saunders Property Co., the Newport Beach real estate investment firm led by local real estate veteran John Saunders.
“Proud to have persevered through 6 years of entitlement to get this project approved in Newport Beach,” Starpointe Chief Executive Patrick Strader said in a LinkedIn post.
The Newport Beach City Council approved the housing component of the Airport Village project in September.
A portion of the apartments are expected to be dedicated to low-income residents, according to the development team. The commercial component could include retail, dining, office and other ventures.
Saunders is the chairman of Newport Beach-based CORE Realty Holdings, which manages over 10.6 million square feet of commercial and multifamily real estate throughout the United States on behalf of investors.
The Blue Bay project is being marketed as a development opportunity by Starpoint and KW Commercial; it was designed by MVE Architects.
“This seven-story luxury for-sale community features contemporary architecture bringing an elevated urban character to the Irvine Business Complex,” the architecture firm said on its website.
“The development features an elevated amenity and pool deck, along with a townhome street frontage to further the urban-living experience.”
