Chipmaker Conexant Systems Inc. said Tuesday it’s selling 25 acres of land next to its Newport Beach headquarters to Santa Ana-based developer City Ventures LLC for $26.1 million
The land is on Jamboree Road near the Irvine city line. The site’s been eyed for major redevelopment in the past few years.
Conexant said proceeds from the sale, expected to close in March, would be used for general purposes, including debt reduction, according to Chief Executive Scott Mercer.
A sale had been considered for several years.
Conexant believes that about 17 acres of the land currently zoned for light industrial use could be sold and redeveloped as homes, shops and other uses.
The company’s been trying to rezone the land since 2006. But its efforts were thwarted by the downturn in the local real estate market, as well as a lawsuit between the city of Newport Beach and Irvine.
The land being sold includes two leased buildings that total about 456,000 square feet of space.
About 53,000 square feet of that space is occupied by occupied by Conexant and 389,000 square feet leased is leased to Jazz Technologies Inc., according to filings made late last year with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Jazz is a unit of Israel’s Tower Semiconductor Ltd. that split off from Conexant in 2002.
City Ventures, which began operations about a year ago, has made a name for itself buying land for infill projects across Southern California. It focuses on building homes, condominiums and stores.
Recent deals the company’s eyed for redevelopment include properties in Pasadena, Yorba Linda and Santa Ana.
