Irvine apartment developer MBK Rental Living has made a large investment for a new project that’s going up next to the Santa Ana (5) Freeway in Anaheim.
The apartment unit of MBK Real Estate Ltd., which itself is the U.S. real estate development arm of Japan’s Mitsui & Co., late last month closed on the purchase of a 5.2-acre site at 1600 W. Lincoln Ave.
MBK Rental paid nearly $21.4 million, or $4 million an acre, for the site, property records indicate. Its partner was Japan’s Haseko Corp.; the two firms have previously worked together on other developments. Cushman & Wakefield’s Marc Renard brokered the deal.
The land had been home to a collection of auto-related facilities.
The buyers plan a 315-unit apartment complex, dubbed Zia, at the site. The five-story complex will include a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans, ranging from 600 to 1,900 square feet.
Zia is the only Orange County project currently on the company’s books, according to MBK Rental’s website. Its homebuilding division, also based in Irvine, has built locally before.
The community is expected to open late next year. It’s being designed by AO Architects and its landscape is designed by Sitescapes. Notable amenities will include a game lounge with duckpin bowling, and co-working office space with podcast rooms, the developer said.
