A 4-acre site overlooking the Back Bay in Newport Beach could see a major overhaul, including a new senior housing project, if the site’s owner, the YMCA, moves ahead with a redevelopment plan.
City filings indicate that the YMCA recently submitted a preliminary application to the city of Newport Beach to update and expand its campus at 2300 University Drive, off Irvine Avenue and next to the Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve.
The site currently holds a roughly 18,000-square-foot gym and fitness center used by the Newport-Mesa Family YMCA, along with a pool and other amenities, and a large surface-level parking lot.
The YMCA envisions expanding the main facility to 51,000 square feet and building 105 multifamily housing units for residents 55 and older. The revamped site would also include a multi-story parking lot with 424 stalls, including 300 for the expanded YMCA.
‘Newport Hub’
A recently unveiled website for the proposed development touts the project, whose housing component is dubbed the Perch Residences, as “a bold new approach to active senior housing.”
The 105-unit apartment building for active seniors is expected to run 134,499 square feet, it says.
In partnership with the nonprofit YMCA, the Perch Residences “promotes a vibrant, intergenerational lifestyle centered on wellness, connection, and lifelong engagement,” the Newport Hub Project’s website says.
In conjunction with the new and expanded YMCA, “the project blends private residential amenities with shared access to expansive recreational facilities, the site says.
“This innovative model integrates older adult housing with a dynamic community hub, supporting the city’s housing goals, affordable housing needs, and broad recreational demands—including aquatic programs—while enriching lives across generations.”
Notable features of the 51,000-square-foot YMCA are expected to be a café, aquatics center, gymnasium, teaching kitchen, kids areas and educational facilities.
A timeframe for the project, which requires a variety of city approvals, hasn’t been disclosed.
Busy Street
The Newport-Mesa YMCA sits next to the Bay Corporate Plaza office complex along University Drive. The offices house the Holocaust Museum Orange County and the Chabad Center for Jewish Life, among other tenants.
The largest building at the plaza, a nearly 27,000-square-foot office at 2240 University Drive, sold last month for $22 million, or roughly $825 per square foot, according to CoStar records. The buyer was the Newport Jewish Center, while the seller was an affiliate of Corona’s KPC Group, records indicate.
