An 11-acre waterfront site in Seal Beach whose fate has been in limbo for well over a decade has new ownership that plans a high-end housing project on part of the property.
Shea Homes recently closed on Ocean Place on First Street next to the San Gabriel River. The development site is a few steps from the beach and a short walk to the Alamitos Bay Marina in Long Beach.
The Walnut-based builder paid about $36.6 million for the land, of which four acres is earmarked and entitled for 30 single-family homes. It’s one of the last large coastal development opportunities in Orange County.
The deal works out to about $1.2 million per home lot. The land was sold by a local investment group operating as Bay City Partners LLC, in a transaction brokered by Marc Kleiman and Dan McDonough with Irvine-based Province West.
Bay City Partners, which includes a few local residents, paid about $4.5 million for the site in 2003, according to news reports. The city had wanted to buy it for its own uses but lacked the money to do so at the time.
The site remained unused as the group worked through entitlement and city-related issues. After several years of negotiations, it was decided that in addition to the housing component, the site would include a 6.4-acre park to be owned and operated by the city, as well as a ¼-acre parcel for “visitor-serving” uses in Seal Beach, such as an Airbnb-type rental property.
Homes will be 3,000 to 5,600 square feet, according to Province West’s marketing package.
“While the entitlements provide for significant architectural flexibility, it’s anticipated that the community will feature two-story homes with roof decks to take advantage of commanding blue water, Catalina, and marina views,” the package says.
Pricing and a construction schedule haven’t been announced.
A few Seal Beach oceanfront homes on the market have asking prices approaching $3 million, and homes in the nearby Naples Island area of Long Beach go for as much as $6.9 million, according to Redfin records.
Harbor Hit
Long Beach-based Harbor Associates LLC bought 2020 E. First St. in Santa Ana, a five-story, 112,000-square-foot office down the street from Xerox Centre.
It partnered with Blue Vista Capital Management in Chicago on the $13.2 million buy, or $118 per square foot.
The building was sold by an affiliate of Santa Ana-based Colton Cos. in a deal brokered by Bob Smith and Michelle Jefcoat of CBRE Group Inc.
The new owners said they plan cosmetic changes and property enhancements. The office is currently 25% leased to four tenants.
The buy is Harbor’s 15th value-add acquisition in the past three years. It’s backed financially by Irvine-based Bascom Group and reports owning eight Orange County properties totaling 475,000 square feet.
Harbor said it’s acquired six Southern California projects over the past five months totaling $181 million.
Shoe Center
Irvine-based developer Sares-Regis Group has found a local firm to fill part of its new, 70-acre industrial project in the San Bernardino County city of Chino.
It announced that OluKai Inc., an Irvine-based maker of Hawaii-inspired sandals, shoes, flip-flops and boots, agreed to lease a 173,495-square-foot building at the 1-million-square-foot Kimball Business Park of eight distribution buildings it’s constructing near Chino’s airport.
OluKai has outgrown its Huntington Beach distribution operations and will be the first tenant, Sares-Regis said, though it will remain based in the Irvine Spectrum area.
Other tenants taking space at the business park are Best Buy and Winsight LLC, an import-export consumer products company. The project, whose first buildings are being finished, is about 70% leased. Buildings range from 44,746 to 349,000 square feet.
