The developer of a proposed mixed-use project that could include several residential towers in Newport Beach is looking to break ground on the first phase of construction as early as 2014.
New York-based Uptown Newport LP recently filed a preliminary master plan for a 1,244-home development along Jamboree Road, near the Newport Beach and Irvine city line.
The project would go up on a 25-acre parcel of land next to the two 10-story buildings that hold the headquarters of Newport Beach-based chipmakers Conexant Systems Inc. and Mindspeed Technologies Inc.
The 25-acre site slated for the new development contains a pair commercial buildings, including a nearly 311,000-square- foot semiconductor manufacturing facility that’s currently used by Jazz Semiconductor Inc.
The project—one of largest residential projects currently under consideration in Newport Beach—could include for-sale and rental units. The development could also include towers as tall as 150 feet, according to city filings.
Uptown Newport—a venture that includes an affiliate of Irvine real estate investor Shopoff Group LP and a fund controlled by New York-based DRA Advisors LLC—paid Conexant $23.5 million for the land near the end of 2010.
Conexant retained a small stake in the development after the sale, which included a $21.5 million cash payment.
The new ownership group now is working to get entitlement work completed for the project. It recently filed early-stage development plans and a draft environmental impact report with the city.
The first of two study sessions for the proposed development was held last week; the second hearing is scheduled for Oct. 18. The project still faces hearings in front of both Newport Beach’s city council and planning commission.
It’s expected that Uptown Newport would sell individual parcels of the site to builder-developers once entitlement work is completed.
City filings show a two-phased development plan envisioned for the 25-acre site, both of which would require a heavy dose of demolition work.
Initial Construction
The first phase of construction would knock down a nearly 127,000-square-foot office building at 4311 Jamboree Road. The so-called Half-Dome building, last used by Jazz Semiconductor, currently is vacant, according to brokerage data.
The first phase would be built on about 12.3 acres, largely along the westerly portion of the property, according to filings. It would include about 680 homes and 11,500 square feet of retail space.
Work on the initial phase is projected to commence in 2014 and run through 2017, according to plans filed with the city.
A less-certain timeline is in place for the 12.8-acre second phase of the proposed development, which would include the demolition of a 311,000-square-foot building at 4321 Jamboree Road. The building is currently used by Jazz Semiconductor to make silicon wafers.
Jazz Semiconductor—a former spinoff of Conexant that’s now owned by Israel-based Tower Semiconductor Ltd.—has a lease for the building that runs through 2017, with a 10-year extension option.
The developer’s plan for the site currently envisions the company leaving the location in 2017, at which time the building would be demolished to make way for an additional 564 homes.
Second Phase
The second phase of development could be completed by 2021, assuming the manufacturing building is vacated in 2017.
Residential buildings being proposed for both phases include low-rise row houses along with four- and five-story apartments or condominiums.
Midrise to high-rise buildings, topping out at 150 feet, also are envisioned. The maximum height would nearly match the three-tower Plaza project located a few blocks away at the intersection of Campus Drive and Jamboree in Irvine.
The project is expected to “be configured with a pattern of streets and development areas that provide a pedestrian-friendly environment, with strong connectivity to adjacent commercial/office areas,” according to the developer’s filings with the city.
The development will also include a pair of 1-acre parks, according to early-stage renditions of the project.
