Construction has begun on a major mixed-use project that will bring more than 600 apartments to the city of Santa Ana.
Wermers Properties, a San Diego-based multifamily developer, recently broke ground on the 603-unit project, just west of the Santa Ana (5) Freeway and the city’s zoo.
The project has been in the works since 2016, when the roughly 6-acre site sold.
The Business Journal was first to report that the ownership group had ties to Dennis Troesh, a wealthy businessman and real estate investor from Riverside County. He previously owned Corona-based Robertson’s Ready Mix, one of the largest ready-mix and construction aggregate operations in the western United States.
Formerly called Prentice Park Residences, the midrise development is now named The Elan, and will also include ground-floor commercial space.
“The Elan mixed-use project will further stimulate growth in the Prentice Park area by attracting others to the revitalization of the First Street corridor in Santa Ana,” said Branden Wermers, principal at Wermers Properties.
The nearly block-long site at 1660 E. First St. is between Elk Lane and South Lyon Street. A portion of the land previously held the Saddleback Inn hotel, which was razed several years ago following a series of fires.
The former Elks Lodge of Santa Ana was knocked down to make way for the development.
$18M Land Sale
The Elks Building Association sold the site for a reported $18 million in 2016 to Santa Anna First Street LLC, an entity that property records indicate has ties to Troesh and is based out of Hendersonville, Nev.
Plans for the project have largely remained the same since the land sale, with apartment homes divided between one seven-story building and one five-story building.
Units will be comprised of studio, one, two, and three-bedroom units, in addition to live-work spaces.
The development will also include a fitness center and yoga studio, two pool decks, courtyards and two levels of underground parking.
The Elan is expected to open in 2022.
“We are not only providing new housing and commercial opportunities for the community, but we are honored to participate in the rich history of the city of Santa Ana and the renewal of the Prentice Park neighborhood,” said Tom Wermers, CEO of Wermers Properties.
