The Irvine Company is a step closer to developing about 6,000 homes over time in the southeastern part of Irvine.
The city’s Planning Commission last month OK’d a zoning change to allow for homes where office and industrial buildings once were planned.
The change would impact about 1,000 acres of developed and undeveloped land and do away with several million square feet of space allotted for businesses.
The plan is set to go before the City Council later this month, according to Michael LeBlanc, an Irvine Co. senior vice president.
If the council signs off, construction of homes could start within two years.
Initially, the Irvine Co. plans to focus on a 752-acre valley at the city’s edge near Laguna Canyon Road, just across from the Irvine Spectrum.
That area could see 750 homes, including some attached condominiums.
“Our goal here is to allow more housing to be built near employment,” LeBlanc said.
The Irvine Co. also is seeking to build 1,600 more apartments next to the 1,550-unit The Village apartments at the Spectrum. Construction could start within four years or so.
The bulk of the homes planned for the area would come on land that’s now home to Verizon Wireless Amphitheater and Wild Rivers water park, which have leases through 2017.
About 3,700 homes and apartments or condos could be built on the land, along with an elementary school.
Development could come after the leases are up, or sooner.
Plans for the Great Park at the neighboring former El Toro Marine base call for an amphitheater, which could bring the relocation of the Verizon venue.
Wild Rivers is said to be in talks with Lennar Corp., which is redeveloping El Toro, about moving to the former base.
Changes at El Toro are behind the Irvine Co.’s moves. Without an airport once planned at the former base, there is less need for office and industrial development in the area, according to the Irvine Co.
No airport also makes homes and shops more attractive.
About 870 acres of open space would be set aside with the zoning changes.
The Irvine Co. also plans a shift for Irvine Spectrum land where plans call for 2 million square feet of possible development.
The company plans to hold off on development of office and industrial buildings there for now, citing “surplus commercial intensity.”
The area is home to several office projects where developers have built small buildings and sold them to business owners.
