Irvine Co. plans to add a limited amount of for-sale housing to offerings in its Los Olivos community in the Irvine Spectrum area.
The Newport Beach-based developer, which has a multitude of commercial and apartment projects under way or finished in the Spectrum, presented plans to the city’s planning commission this month to build its first batch of for-sale homes in the immediate area.
The project would be part of its 400-acre Los Olivos development south of the San Diego (405) Freeway on Irvine Center Drive.
The first phase of residential development at Los Olivos was built about four years ago. It has 1,750 apartments and a shopping center that holds Irvine’s only Whole Foods grocery store. The area is entitled to hold an additional 1,950 residential units—1,781 apartments, plus 169 condos—according to documents filed by the privately held developer, which is working on plans for the condo portion.
According to planning commission filings, the 169-unit residential project would be built in a gated community on 23 acres at the southwest corner of Irvine Center Drive and Bake Parkway.
Despite the description of the project as a condominium development, the two-story residences would in fact be detached homes, filings said.
They would be a mix of three- and four-bedroom units in the 2,300-square-foot to 2,600-square-foot range, according to the proposal.
“Buildings will feature Classical, Formal Spanish and Italian architectural styles consistent with the overall planning area theme,” planning documents said.
A construction time frame hasn’t been disclosed, nor has it been said whether the developer’s in-house development arm, Irvine Pacific, or a different builder would sell the homes.
An elementary school has been proposed for the immediate area, as well as a nearby 12.5-acre community park, according to city filings.
ARES in Anaheim
Irvine-based apartment investor Advanced Real Estate Services Inc. has added another property in Anaheim to its local portfolio.
The company, also known as ARES, paid $54 million this month for the 193-unit Madera Apartment complex on Jackson Avenue near the intersection of the Riverside (91) and Orange (57) freeways. That’s about $280,000 per unit. ARES said it got a $35 million loan to help fund the transaction.
It was sold by Irvine-based Western National Group, which paid a reported $31 million for it in 2011.
ARES said it plans to renovate and rebrand the property as The Jackson Apartments.
The company now has 1,260 units in Anaheim among nine properties that make up nearly 15% of its portfolio.
“We are hoping to find more acquisition opportunities as this transaction required only a small percentage of our available funds,” said ARES President Richard Julian in a statement.
Sean Deasy and Ryan Fitzpatrick at the Newport Beach office of HFF advised Western National in the transaction, as they did in its 2011 purchase of the complex. HFF’s Kevin MacKenzie and Lee Redmond worked on arranging the loan for the buyers.
Car Swap
The former Costa Mesa headquarters of Karma Automotive LLC is up for lease.
The luxury electric carmaker recently moved its headquarters to 9950 Jeronimo Road, a 262,463-square-foot facility in the Irvine Spectrum that it bought in March for a reported $56.3 million.
The new headquarters includes a host of creative-office features and was designed to hold what the carmaker calls a Branded Experience Center for shoppers of its new Revero vehicle, which has a $130,000 price tag.
Its Costa Mesa location was a little more than 78,700 square feet and is now being marketed for lease by Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services’ Phil Cohen. An asking rent wasn’t disclosed in marketing materials.
The vacated space next to John Wayne Airport at 3080 Airway Ave. is being pitched as a potential creative-office and corporate headquarters facility. A parking structure has also been proposed for the 3.9-acre property.
