Mixed-Use Plan Advances for Former Parker Hannifin Site
By DANIEL D. WILLIAMS
A plan is taking shape for apartments, office and retail space at Parker Hannifin Corp.’s former Irvine campus near John Wayne Airport.
Entitlements for an eight-story, 220,000-square-foot office building and a 150-room hotel have been approved by the city of Irvine, according to Tim Strader Jr., executive vice president of Irvine-based Starpointe Ventures, a consultant on the project.
Plans for apartments and condominiums also are in the works, Strader said.
“We’re not there yet, but we believe we’ll have something formally submitted in the next 30 days,” he said.
About a year ago, investment group KFPLB Michelson Jamboree LLC paid $65 million for the 42.7-acre campus that used to serve as the headquarters for Parker Aerospace, now in the Irvine Spectrum.
KFPLB Michelson’s managing partner is Highgate Holdings, an Irving, Texas-based real estate investor.
Highgate officials weren’t available for comment. But Strader said the owners are refining their plans for retail and residential space before bringing those portions to the city.
The former Parker campus,400,000 square feet of industrial and office space,is set to be razed, Strader said, with new construction taking place in phases.
The residential component is holding up plans for now.
The property is in the Irvine Business Com-plex, which has a project cap of 3,810 residential units, according to an Irvine planning official.
“The developers want to increase the number in the cap and are mulling the final plan for now,” said Brent Cooper, a principle planner with the city.
Highgate and Starpointe are working on the mix of condos and townhomes planned for the site, Strader said.
The plans aren’t the first for the site.
Earlier this year, the American National Red Cross signed a three-year lease to take 30,000 square feet of office and warehouse space at the property.
The Red Cross plans to use the space for administrative work and to store blood.
When Parker first left the site, initial plans called for a Home Depot and later a data center at the campus.
In late 2000, Global Center Inc. signed a 15-year lease valued at $70 million to occupy 232,000 square feet at the site.
Santa Clara-based Exodus Communica-tions Inc. later acquired the Global Crossing Holdings Ltd. unit and the lease but never followed through with a data center.
Atlanta-based Home Depot Inc. eyed the property with plans to build an Expo Design Center, the company’s interior design store. Home Depot, an early investor in KFPLB, planned to build a 105,000-square-foot store on 13 acres and sell off another 29 acres.
According to Strader, Home Depot backed out of the project, opening the way for Highgate.
