Vancouver-based developer Intracorp, one of the few developers of for-sale housing in the Irvine Business Complex the past few years, is adding an apartment development to its local portfolio.
The privately held firm recently closed on 2055 Main, a vacant 47,583-square-foot industrial building on the corner of Main Street and Gillette Avenue, about a mile from John Wayne Airport.
LBA Realty of Irvine was the seller of the 2.2-acre site.
Intracorp paid $13.1 million for the property, which will be razed to make way for a 178-unit apartment project.
The development site is an area Intracorp knows well; it is next to two recently built for-sale townhome communities, and a third for-sale project is slated to open nearby soon.
“We have been experiencing strong sales in the IBC,” Intracorp Division President Brad Perozzi told the Business Journal. The developer has a large operational base in Newport Beach, with about 30 people.
“It seems like there is no political will to expand the housing cap in the area, putting us in a great competitive position.”
The IBC’s housing cap stands at around 15,000 units. Nearly all those units are spoken for.
With development opportunities in the IBC limited, Intracorp now is targeting other locations in Orange County for future developments; it has an apartment project underway in Fullerton and an acquisition looming elsewhere, though Perozzi did not offer specifics on the latter.
“We will continue to invest in Orange County because of the strong job market and reasons that make it a great place to live,” Perozzi said.
Housing Hub
Construction at the 2055 Main building is scheduled to begin shortly. The five-story building will have a rooftop amenity deck. Leasing is expected to begin in late 2021.
2055 Main is next to several other Intracorp multifamily projects geared at owners, not renters.
The newest is MDL, a 137-unit gated townhome development slated to open next month. Homes there will start at prices under $600,000, according to the developer. They’ll range from a little more than 1,000 square feet to about 2,200 square feet.
Completed projects include LUX, a collection of 39 three-story townhomes with prices starting in the mid $800,000s; and C2E, which has 71 townhomes. Nearly 80 of its homes in the IBC have sold to date, according to Intracorp.
Fullerton’s Amplifi
Elsewhere in Orange County, Intracorp is developing a 290-unit luxury apartment project in downtown Fullerton called Amplifi. Construction began in February, and is expected to wrap in 2021.
Perozzi—who is part of a separate development group planning apartments near Honda Center, in Orange—said the company is in the due diligence process for the acquisition of another project site in the county, with more sales planned down the road.
“We are in a really great spot, and we are fortunate that we offer both for sale and for rent product types,” he said. “That gives us an edge.”
