Compiled by Kelly Ryan
NEWPORT COAST
A campground is under construction near the intersection of North Coast Highway and Newport Coast Drive. The El Morro/Crystal Cove Conversion Project is funded by $25 million in Prop. 12 funds. This lump sum also covers renovation costs for nearby beachside cottages. The campground space was occupied by the El Morro Village Trailer Park until its lease expired in 2004. The new space will have 60 campsites and should help alleviate the heavy volume of cottage rentals. Day-users will have access to 200 parking spots. Construction began in July 2008 and could finish in early 2010. After initial construction is complete some remaining cottages in the historical district will undergo improvements.
IRVINE
University of California, Irvine, has halted construction on its Claire Trevor Media Arts Building and Gallery. State funding for all educational development is in limbo as California legislators search for ways to solve the budget deficit. The construction contract allows for a 90-day suspension of work, followed by contract renegotiation. The school held a topping off and beam-signing ceremony for that project earlier last month. Campus loan funding should allow construction to continue on another campus project, the 65,000-square-foot Telemedicine Medical Education Building, through the end of January. It was originally scheduled for completion later this year.
WESTMINSTER
Plans have been filed with the city of Westminster to build senior apartments at the southwest corner of Dorothy Lane and Melanie Lane. The development could be as large as 147,879 square feet in four buildings and a community center. The project will have 123 units with one bedroom and 59 with two bedrooms. The development will front Dorothy Lane and have 212 parking spaces behind the buildings. Owner M. Westland LLC has requested that Dorothy Lane be narrowed to allow greater separation from surrounding single-family homes. The planning file is currently incomplete and the owner will need to meet further requirements before progress with the city can continue.
FULLERTON
Construction crews are nearing completion of a university police facility at California State University, Fullerton. The building sits on State College Boulevard near the intersection with Yorba Linda Boulevard. The university police currently work out of temporary classrooms that were built in the 1960s. After the department moves to the 10,470-square-foot location, the classroom building will be used for storage. The new facility will have administrative offices, a dispatch center and a holding and processing area. The construction budget is nearly $6.4 million. LPA Inc. architects in Irvine designed the project, which should be completed in March or April.
BREA
Developers are seeking approval from the city for a new mixed-use project with single- and multifamily housing along with a medical office building near the corner of Lambert Road and Brea Boulevard. The 15.4 acre-site previously was home to Brea Community Hospital and five medical office buildings. The hospital was razed in 2006 and the old medical buildings will be replaced by a three-story medical office structure. Plans call for 96 condominiums with two-car garages and 444 rental apartments. Retail units will be below the apartments. Newport Beach-based developer J.H. Real Estate Partners will discuss the environmental report for the site at a scoping meeting Feb. 11 at Mariposa Elementary School.
CAPISTRANO BEACH
Semi-custom homes are being built near Camino De Estrella and Camino Capistrano. Irvine-based developer R.D.H. Group Development Corp. purchased the land in 2006 and approached T.S. Voelker Architecture to design seven of the 10 homes at Mare Altura. San Clemente architect Jorden Segraves designed the remaining three. The homes range in size from 3,800 to 5,000 square feet and take design cues from a Tuscan village. Construction began on the first six homes last April, to be finished this summer. The homes are priced starting at $2.8 million. T.S. Voelker created plans for the Cabo Azul Resort in Los Cabos, Mexico as well as Glen Ivy Day Spa in Brea.
If you’re a developer or city planner and would like to see a project featured in Around the County, please contact Kelly Ryan at ryan@ocbj.com or (949) 833-8373. The column covers projects in Orange County’s cities and unincorporated areas, and some projects in Corona. Commercial, housing and retail projects are the focus of the column. Some larger public works projects also are included.
