Compiled by Kelly Ryan and Paul Hughes
LAKE FOREST
Costa Mesa-based SoCal Hospitality LLC is building a 148-room hotel near the San Diego (I-5) Freeway and Lake Forest Drive. The hotel is a near the Irvine Spectrum and is a “new generation” Holiday Inn. It is set to offer meeting and banquet space, a gym and business center. Rooms are designed with wired and wireless Internet access. The five-story building is set to be 67,000 square feet. General Contractor Camco Pacific Construction Co. of Irvine started demolition and foundation work in May and should finish the project by late 2009.
MISSION VIEJO
Mission Viejo Country Club plans to spend $20 million renovating its golf course this year and build a new clubhouse next year. The course, originally designed by the late Robert Trent Jones Sr., is undergoing a renovation overseen by son Robert Trent Jones Jr. Actual redesign work is being done by company president and chief designer, Bruce Charlton. It’s set to finish in November. The work includes new tee complexes to triple existing tees, renovated bunkers and a new watering system. The club is adding a small lake to its par-three third hole. When done, the course is set to be 7,100 yards. Nine holes of the course are set to stay open during renovation as the redesign is being done in stages. The clubhouse work starts in early 2009 on a 14-month construction schedule. The current clubhouse, with a cart barn and locker room, is 47,000 square feet. The new clubhouse should be about the same size. The private club launched the renovation after selling 7 acres of land that served as a water pond.
FULLERTON
A senior housing complex is going up in place of the burned remains of the Sunny Hills Racquet Club near Rosecrans Avenue and Euclid Street. The project, named Jacaranda, is being developed by Morgan Group Inc. of Houston and a local owner. Plans call for 131,000 square feet of rentable space with an 8,000-square-foot clubhouse and leasing center. The project originally was designed with 180 units before being cut to 131 after concerns from neighbors. Jacaranda is set to have four floor plans ranging in size from 736 square feet to 1,371 square feet. The outside is set to have a Big Bear Lodge-type look with stone siding and stucco, according to the developers. Demolition of what was left of the tennis club began a few weeks ago. The clubhouse should be done next summer with the rest of the project finishing at the end of 2009. Morgan Group has developed apartments in Fullerton and recently was selected with San Diego’s JMI Realty to develop a mixed-use project at the 35-acre Fullerton train station.
NEWPORT BEACH
A multipurpose theater building is under way at Newport Harbor High School near Pacific Coast Highway and Newport Boulevard. An old theater was razed last summer because of concerns about its ability to withstand earthquakes. The old building housed the school library, the science department, theater, drama and music departments as well as offices. The new building is designed by Irvine-based LPA Inc. and is being built by the Newport Beach office of McCarthy Buildings Cos. Twelve science classrooms are set to be on the second floor with music classes on the first. The theater wing will have 500 seats, changing rooms and a scene storage room. The construction budget is $35 million, funded by a 2005 bond measure for the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. The project should be done and ready for students late next year.
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.
