Irvine Mayor Steven Choi recently went public with word that an agreement between the city and FivePoint Communities on actually building out the Great Park could be a key to keeping chipmaker Broadcom in the city. FivePoint is still seeking a deal that would see it put $200 million toward the development of athletic fields and other community amenities at the Great Park in exchange for permission to build about 4,600 additional homes—it’s already got OKs for 4,900—on the adjacent land it owns. Broadcom, meanwhile, is said to be considering an eventual move from its headquarters at University Research Park, with one possibility a spot in the Spectrum, where current landlord Irvine Company is said to be planning a campus of more than 1 million square feet. Broadcom also has been in touch with city officials in Tustin about the old Marine base there—a possibility that has gotten Choi’s attention. And it turns out the mayor has some recent experience in selling the private sector on Irvine, including U.K.-based Meggitt Sensing Systems, which opted for a 190,000-square-foot Irvine Co. building on Myford Road as the spot to consolidate operations in a move that brought about 300 jobs to the city. Meggitt President Mel Hilderbrand told a crowd at last week’s ribbon cutting for his company’s new North American HQ that Choi worked with Gov. Jerry Brown’s economic development department to “cut a path through a jungle of red tape” and land the sensor maker for Irvine …
Lake Forest also can lay claim to some strong ties to industry, especially with its cluster of in-flight entertainment specialists—a group that makes everything from TV screens and audio systems to networking equipment for airlines. Our Chris Casacchia learned of the area’s growing renown in the niche during a recent visit to the Airline Passenger Experience Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center, a main event for the IFE trade. Industry folks were referring to the IFE Triangle—an area that takes in parts of Lake Forest and Irvine between the 405 and the 241, south of the 133 …
John Clark’s new duties as a director of Pacific Mercantile Bank come as Westar Capital LLC, the private equity firm he runs for George Argyros, looks set to wind down its operations. Westar has had about 20 companies in its portfolio over the years and is now down to just one—a manufacturer that it’s had since 2006, “and we’re getting close to when that’s getting sold, too,” Clark told Jane Yu, who profiles Pacific Mercantile’s board on page 1 …
2-Paper Town, Friday the 13th edition: Los Angeles Times—“Home prices level off.” Orange County Register—“Local home prices keep climbing.” … 2-Paper Town, Sports section: Columnist T.J. Simers will shift to the Register from the Times, where the sarcasm specialist exited in what looks like a “You’re-Fired-I-Quit” scenario …
The Register still has a hole to fill with the departure of Lakers beat writer Kevin Ding, who is going to Turner Broadcasting System’s bleacherreport.com.
