Homebuilder Lennar Corp. quietly has bought nearly 30 properties near Angel Stadium of Anaheim with plans to transform a sleepy industrial district into 3,000 condominiums and apartments,nearly as many as the company plans for the former El Toro Marine base.
Its plans for the area, dubbed Platinum Triangle by the city of Anaheim, include six condominium high-rises.
One tower could be as high as 33 stories, becoming the county’s tallest building, according to Sheri Vander Dussen, Anaheim’s planning director. In Santa Ana, developer Michael Harrah has proposed a 37-story office building, which is set to go to voters next week.
The Aliso Viejo office of Lennar, which is based in Miami, plans to center everything around one main street with shops at ground level and condominiums above, according to the city. Initial plans call for 100,000 square feet of shops and offices.
The homebuilder could realize lofty city goals to remake the area around the stadium and Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim into a countywide draw of shops, eateries, homes and offices.
City officials are “excited” about working with one developer on the redevelopment of a big chunk of the area, Anaheim’s Vander Dussen said. It should make handling traffic, public space and other issues simpler, she said.
Lennar is in early talks with the city, Vander Dussen said. Lennar and city officials have discussed plans for 1,619 condominiums and apartments on 30 acres, she said. Lennar would demolish several small office and industrial buildings along Gene Autry Way and Katella Avenue.
Local Lennar executives Jonathan Jaffe and Emile Haddad have orchestrated some major real estate plays here, betting big on the endurance of Orange County’s housing market. As Lennar’s chief operating officer, Jaffe is second-in-command, and Haddad heads Lennar’s local development arm.
Under their direction, Lennar topped bidding for El Toro, agreeing in February to pay $650 million to the Navy. The company is set to pay an additional $400 million to Irvine for roads and other basics.
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Goldenwest Business Park: Lennar spent $70 million for pair of Anaheim campuses with 17 buildings |
Near Angel Stadium, Haddad said his company already has bought 29 properties.
Last year, Lennar bought two area office parks for $70 million, according to Voit Commercial Brokerage LP, which worked on the deal. Golden West Business Park and Gene Autry Business park include 17 buildings on 17 acres.
Factoring out the buildings, which Lennar intends to raze, the builder paid about $4 million an acre for the land.
“It’s all high density,” Lennar’s Haddad said regarding why land prices were high.
He said Lennar plans about 3,000 homes in Anaheim. Irvine has zoned El Toro for 3,600 homes.
In another big play, Lennar and a partner borrowed $105 million from Anaheim-based Fremont Investment & Loan to buy the former Parker Hannifin aerospace campus in Irvine, according to the lender. Lennar and partner Highgate Holdings, an Irving, Texas-based real estate investor, plan 1,380 condos, including one high-rise, on the site.
Lennar’s big investments could prove risky, considering mortgage rates are on the rise on recent signs of inflation and hikes of a key short-term rate by the Federal Reserve Bank.
Housing sales have dipped in the county, but prices remain high.
In any case, Lennar’s Jaffe and Haddad are proving to be big believers in high-rise housing. They’ve partnered with another developer to build a high-rise in San Diego and now plan seven in OC,one in Irvine and six in Anaheim.
The height of the Irvine tower would be limited by the path of planes to and from John Wayne Airport. It should be 18 stories or less.
It’s also done more traditional housing projects here. Lennar, in partnership with Newport Beach-based William Lyon Homes Inc., got a piece of the Tustin Marine base to build homes.
In Anaheim, Lennar has much higher visions. The builder is considering a tower of up to 33 stories, topping the county’s biggest current building, the 21-story Center Tower in Costa Mesa. Lennar also is considering two 24-story towers and two 23-story towers, according to the city.
Lennar hasn’t revealed to the city its plans for the sixth tower, Anaheim’s Vander Dussen said. She said the towers would be concentrated along Katella.
Nearly all of Lennar’s properties fall within a special zoning district approved by City Council in May as part of an update of its general plan. The general plan outlines Anaheim’s vision for the area.
Anaheim wants to see older commercial buildings, motels and gas stations there transformed to 9,175 condominiums and apartments, 5 million square feet of offices and 2 million square feet of shops.
The city has named the area Platinum Triangle, for the quasi triangle formed by the Santa Ana (I-5) Freeway, the Santa Ana River and railroad tracks.
The city left existing commercial zoning in place, but created optional zoning on top of it, which allows for mixing homes with businesses.
Land values around the stadium have shot up in the past 10 to 15 months amid Lennar’s buying spree and the zone changes, brokers said.
At least one of Lennar’s properties falls outside the special zoning for housing, according to the city. The result could impact other property owners with thoughts of selling to a housing developer.
“We don’t want to expand the boundaries of the mixed-use district until things are up and running,” Anaheim’s Vander Dussen said.
She said the city likely would give Lennar some leeway, since its properties are all part of one comprehensive plan.
