Oliver Chi, Irvine’s city manager since December 2021, stepped down Sunday to become Santa Monica’s city manager, capping a tenure marked by the city’s $1.2 billion expansion of the 300-acre Great Park neighborhood and the $600 million Gateway Village project.
Not to be overlooked, however, are Irvine’s plans to build a permanent amphitheater in the Great Park and the local government approving a $97 million purchase of some land at Irvine Business Complex (IBC) to build a public recreation facility.
Irvine paid twice the market value for the gym proposal, while the city predicts it may lose millions of dollars during the next few years as it tries to bring a permanent amphitheater online by 2028.
Public Badminton Gymnasium
Irvine’s City Council approved the purchase of land at IBC in September. Chi defended the deal — $97 million to Lincoln Property Co., plus tenant improvements and construction — as the cheapest possible alternative.
The city paid twice as much as a private buyer would have paid for the 7.3-acre land.
Chi told the Business Journal in September the deal was necessary to save time and money. He cited another facility, saying building a gym at a city park could have cost the city $175 million, with a four-year timeline, at minimum, for construction.
Building at IBC would not cost as much money or take as long to build, Chi said.
Construction of the badminton-themed gym, located at 17300 Red Hill Ave., is underway.
Great Park Live
Music lovers in and around Irvine have been taking in shows at Great Park Live, a temporary 5,000-seat concert venue. Great Park Live opened in 2024 and is scheduled to operate until at least 2027. A permanent amphitheater at Great Park is expected to be ready for concerts and events in 2028.
Great Park Live came online in January 2024, about three months after a separate concert venue – Five Point Amphitheatre – shut down.
Shift to Santa Monica
Chi officially begins his term as Santa Monica’s city manager on July 14. His contract, which pays Chi an annual salary of $410,604, was approved by the Santa Monica City Council on May 27.
Chi will take the reigns of a $790 million budget and a workforce of 2,000-plus employees. Santa Monica presents a different development climate than Irvine, as there is little to no open land available in the dense coastal Los Angeles County.
Affordable housing and homelessness are two of Santa Monica’s major priorities.
Prior to joining Irvine in 2021, Chi held leadership roles in Barstow, Huntington Beach, Monrovia and Rosemead. He earned a Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California and a bachelor’s in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Chi’s total compensation for 2024, according to an Irvine city report, was nearly $530,000, with a base salary of $385,640 and more than $70,000 in pension costs.
Sean Crumby, who served as Irvine’s assistant city manager, succeeds Chi on an interim basis.