Irvine-based Shopoff Realty Investments paid $60 million to buy a 13.8-acre piece of property in Buena Park, with plans to convert an industrial site occupied by Amway Corp. into housing.
“Buena Park is a highly desirable location with strong economic fundamentals and exceptional connectivity to major transportation corridors,” Bill Shopoff, president of his namesake real estate firm, told the Business Journal. “This acquisition aligns with our strategy of identifying well-positioned properties in key markets with long-term growth potential, and we look forward to advancing the entitlement process for this proposed new residential community.”
The proposed project is the latest plan to convert land in Orange County currently zoned for commercial or industrial use into housing. The development calls for single-family and multifamily units.
Details of the proposed housing project have yet to be determined, as Shopoff Realty must secure new entitlements to demolish the two industrial buildings at 5600 Beach Blvd. in Buena Park and convert the property into a residential development.
Those two industrial buildings total 370,031 square feet. Amway occupies the space as part of a corporate sale-leaseback agreement.
“Buena Park offers a tremendous opportunity for strategic redevelopment,” Shopoff said. “This acquisition allows us to capitalize on a prime Orange County location with significant accessibility and strong demand for new housing options. We’re excited to be moving forward with the entitlement process for the proposed residential community.”
The Irvine-based real estate company partnered with an undisclosed national home builder for the proposed housing project when it bought the property from Amway in February.
Shopoff, with the assistance of JLL Capital Markets, secured $49 million in acquisition financing. According to CoStar, the real estate firm paid nearly $145 per square foot.
An official filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in December 2024 showed Shopoff issued an offering of securities through a fund set up specifically for the Buena Park transaction and development.
Shopoff Buena Park Entitlement Fund L.P. will be accepting investments of at least $50,000, according to the SEC filing.
Representatives of Shopoff Realty presented plans for the proposed housing development at a community meeting in Buena Park on March 18.
Converting the Amway site into housing is Shopoff Realty’s latest housing play in Orange County. The real estate company is also the master planner for the Magnolia Coast development in Huntington Beach.
Shopoff Realty has proposed building 250 single-family and attached housing units with commercial uses and a hotel near the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Magnolia Street.
Shopoff received the Business Journal’s award for Excellence in Entrepreneurship in 2023 and was the keynote speaker at this year’s event held March 20 at the Irvine Marriott. (See story, page 4).
Office-to-Housing Boom in OC
Several commercial and industrial properties across Orange County have been targeted for housing.
Newport Beach, for example, is considering a proposal to convert a two-level office building near city hall into an eight-floor apartment building (see page 1).
A 56,000-square-foot warehouse in Costa Mesa, meanwhile, was acquired by Newport Beach-based Intracorp SoCal LLC for nearly $22 million early this year. The warehouse space, formerly occupied by clothing company RVCA, could be converted into a 38-unit condominium project.
Last month, the Irvine City Council canceled a plan to demolish an office campus at Alton Parkway and Von Karman Avenue in favor of a warehouse complex and instead opted to convert the site into a 25-acre residential development.
A 70,000-square-foot office building at 2400 Barranca Parkway was bought by Irvine Community Land Trust in January, with the local nonprofit planning to convert the two-floor office building into an apartment building with affordable housing units.
Santa Ana-based nonprofit Think Together announced plans earlier this year to turn its Fourth Street into a seven-story, multifamily residential complex featuring 270 units. The $150 million workforce housing project could go before the city’s planning commission as early as May.
