Holiday slow? Too many big stories to fit on our front page: 2017 apartment and office-lease toppers; Japanese and Chinese interests opening their wallets for two healthcare firms, spending over $800 million on each. And after two decades on the tarmac, base reuse took Flight in Tustin.
All that activity touts the OC economy—today.
More hopeful signs for the future.
Irvine Co. has bought into and built into the co-working and startup ecosystem. The developer also wants to try affordable: 1,700 apartments at the edge of The Irvine Spectrum aimed at “middle-income earners.”
There are micro efforts, that “Tiny House” proposal in Anaheim—very micro! There’s a project planned for FivePoint’s Great Park Neighborhoods targeting a $399,000 price tag—with a tradeoff—a 1,000-SF home built for an outdoor lifestyle.
There’s Chris Walsh and his Blue Gate Bank partners choosing Costa Mesa for their community bank—first new bank to open n Calif. since the Great Recession, third in the U.S. “I liked the small-business growth here,” Walsh said. Blue Gate focuses on small-business lending and is adding an SBA dept.
Back to FivePoint and candid CEO Emile Haddad. He’s not just looking to build affordable—Haddad wants to young up and fun up a county that often rolls up at 9 p.m.—and stanch the outflow of millennials.
“Look, I love OC. For young people, it can just be boring to death,” Haddad joked at his Aliso Viejo HQ. “I’m trying to create a 24/7 lifestyle here. We have an ability.” Haddad wants to bring the beach and Big City lifestyle to Great Park—young people will live small indoors if they can live large outdoors, goes the thinking.
Speaking of Sports: June’s baseball draft, OC-dominated. Newport Beach super-agent Scott Boras reps No. 1 pick Royce Lewis, SS, JSerra Catholic High School in SJC. That’s routine for Boras—the 11th first pick to sign with Boras Corp. Busy sports month—Rams and Chargers open camp in Irvine and Costa Mesa. Team tennis returns to the Palisades with new local owner, Laguna Beach businessman Eric Davidson. Maria Sharapova plays July 24, and Mike Trout returns.
Inspiration Point: Met lots of fun, generous people at the 42nd Mr. Irrelevant Week bash in Newport (see story, p. 14). I also met Scott Steffel—the CSUF student who caught Albert Pujols’ 600th home run ball—and gave it back to Pujols. No charge. “It’s the way he was raised,” his father, Ted, told me. “It was never a question.” Steffel threw out the first pitch at Angel Stadium the next day. Pujols was the catcher. Priceless.
