Compiled by Kelly Ryan
FULLERTON
GMI Construction Services is finishing work on a medical office condominium building at Providence Center, at the intersection of Harbor Boulevard and Bastanchury Road. Providence Two spans 24,000 square feet, enough for a maximum of 21 condominiums. Providence Center, owned by Irvine-based Accretive Laguna Partners LLC, combines medical offices and restaurants in a mixed-use development. Providence One, an 86,000-square-foot medical office building on the campus, is about 70% leased. It has an entire floor dedicated to women,pregnancy service organizations and a Dermaspa skin care clinic are a few tenants. A four-level parking structure is open there. Crews demolished an outdated retail strip center to make room for an 8,000-square-foot restaurant area called Providence Patio. The patio is currently undergoing tenant improvements and should open in August. Workers from St. Jude Medical Center are expected to use the restaurants, which will include Panera, Z Pizza and Phan 55. The campus already has a Peet’s Coffee, and a frozen yogurt store is coming soon. Accretive Realty plans to duplicate the medical campus office concept on its next project.
IRVINE
AvalonBay Communities Inc. is building apartments at the intersection of Jamboree Road and Alton Parkway. The 260,000-square-foot Avalon Jamboree Village will include 279 units and a fitness building. Residents and visitors will have access to a six-story parking structure. Construction began late last year and should be finished in 2009. Avalon plans to be certified for environmentally sound construction and building management techniques under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards. Orange-based Specialty Steel played a critical role in the greening process. Its post-tension foundation required less overall concrete and fewer emissions from concrete trucks and crews. The apartments are across the street from the 114,000-square-foot Diamond Jamboree Shopping Center, which is still under construction.
WESTMINSTER
Makena Great American is developing a retail and self-storage building at the corner of Beach Boulevard and Edinger Avenue. Makena usually works on retail projects, but this is its first one with a storage facility. The Mission Viejo-based developer purchased the land in 2005 as an empty parcel near the San Diego (I-405) Freeway. Plans were approved late last year allowing some utility work in January and grading began a few months ago. The retail building will be 6,500 square feet and should have room for up to five individual suites. There has been some early tenant interest, but none of the suites are leased yet. The property sits across the street from Bella Terra, a shopping and restaurant center. The self-storage building will be 100,000 square feet. Construction should finish on the project early next year.
COSTA MESA
The Murrel Co. in Newport Beach is conducting an extensive renovation of a pair of restaurant and retail buildings located at the corner of Harbor Boulevard and 19th Street. Last year, Murrel purchased the property, which previously was home to the Pasta Connection. The building was stripped down to its studs and is being rebuilt. Both buildings combine for a total of 7,546 square feet. The smaller retail building is 2,500 square feet. Strategic Retail Advisors is handling the leasing of the building. They are looking for fast, casual restaurants or small financial institutions that will keep with the character of the community. Stores will be ready for tenants by the end of the year. There should be at least 37 parking spaces.
BUENA PARK
Construction crews broke ground in June on a police department building on Beach Boulevard at the Santa Ana (I-5) Freeway. The 66,000-square-foot building will be constructed next to the existing civic center complex. Planning began when officials determined the current police facility would be inadequate for projected growth. The new location will have an emergency operations center, jail, firing range, labs, evidence storage room and physical training area. The total project cost is estimated at $38 million.
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO
The July 21 Around the County should have said the Shea Therapeutic Riding Center’s redevelopment project architect is Irvine-based Martinez/Kuch Architects.
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.
