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The Irvine Company plans to convert the privately operated Oak Creek Golf Course and two adjacent commercial parcels near the Spectrum area into a 235-acre residential neighborhood with 3,100 housing units.
The new village, to be located at the northeastern end of the Irvine Spectrum District, would bring single-family houses next to Innovation Office Park, where companies like Sega of America and Twitch lease space—about one mile from the Great Park, the Newport Beach-based developer announced last week.
As many as 1,500 for-sale houses would be built on the golf course, while 1,600 apartment units are slated for Innovation Office Park, which is adjacent to Oak Creek.
The housing development appears to be the biggest in the city of Irvine since the unveiling of the Great Park about a decade ago. How much the project may cost has not yet been determined, If the Irvine Co. were to sell the 235-acre site, it could fetch more than $1 billion, based on a Business Journal estimate of $5 million per acre. With an average home in Irvine now priced at $1.6 million, per Zillow, the houses alone could bring in $2.4 billion to developers and builders.
The Newest Village
Irvine Co. has not yet named the residential project, but company officials said the development could earn the city’s approval by the summer of 2026. Work could start early in 2027.
The Oak Creek Golf Course would remain operational as Irvine Co. and the city finalize plans. The course would be replaced with housing, but the clubhouse could remain where a public park is proposed.
Irvine Co. also plans to provide for a new school—possibly pre-K through sixth or eighth grade—at no cost to Irvine Unified School District. The new village would also include a public park and trails for bicyclists and hikers.
“The new village within the Spectrum District is being planned with the same thoughtfulness and community collaboration that brought about Irvine’s existing 22 villages,” Jeff Davis, a senior vice president with Irvine Co., told the Business Journal in a statement.
“This master planning effort reinforces Irvine’s approach to housing, schools, transportation infrastructure, parks, trails and other open space connections. It will be one of Irvine’s most conveniently located communities, within biking, or even walking, distance to employment and support services within the greater Irvine Spectrum area.”
City Policy and Local Feedback
Several business parks and office buildings are located within a two-mile radius of the proposed village. Companies such as Amazon, Apple, Boot Barn, California Bank of Commerce, KPMG, Maruchan, Masimo and Merrill all have offices within the Spectrum District.
Also near the proposed village is the Irvine Spectrum Center, an outdoor mall home to Target, Nordstrom, Improv Comedy Club, Javier’s, Lululemon, Old Navy, Tilly’s and Vans.
The village’s proximity to employers and Irvine Spectrum Center is part of the Irvine Co.’s planning principles, which is based on local feedback. More than 90% of 7,000 respondents to an Irvine Co. survey said they favor “single-family homes in a village setting.”
That survey yielded five planning principles: build single-family houses for growing families and first-time buyers; develop a new elementary school; create parks and gathering spaces; extend the Jeffrey Open Space Trail; and place homes near jobs to shorten commute times.
Irvine City Council member and Great Park Chair Michael Carroll was hopeful the new village, proposed to be built in his district, would benefit one of Orange County’s most populous cities. “
This proposal provides a good balance, adding a new traditional village with parks, trails and a neighborhood school, all close to the Irvine Spectrum area, our city’s job center,” Carroll told the Business Journal. “The plan looks to be consistent with the master planning principles that made Irvine one of America’s great cities. I’m looking forward to learning more about it as we dive into the approval process.”
State Housing Mandate
The new village could help the city, which has about 117,000 housing units, reach its state mandated goal of providing around 58,000 new homes and apartments by the year 2045. The Irvine Co., in an official statement, said the Spectrum District was identified as “an ideal location to respond to state housing mandates because it places future residents nears jobs and amenities.”
All California cities are required to add new housing units within their borders. Irvine General Plan Update requires the additional new housing units to accommodate the city’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment, per city documents.
Irvine plans to add 15,000 new housing units at the Irvine Business Complex, 26,607 housing units to the Spectrum area and 5,252 housing units at the Great Park Neighborhoods Transit Village District. City documents show that another 8,536 housing units could be built across Irvine, plus 2,261 housing units tied to recently approved developments.
City officials have previously told the Business Journal that they are reluctantly going along with the requirement and noted not all the additional housing may be realized.
“Last year, I led the charge to oppose the 58,676 homes that the state required us to plan for and demanded that new housing must be balanced, including for-sale homes. Master planning the Irvine way includes parks, neighborhood schools and transportation,” Carroll told the Business Journal.
“This proposal provides a good balance, adding a new traditional village with parks, trails and a school within the Irvine Spectrum area, our city’s job center. The plan looks to be consistent with the master planning principles that continues to make Irvine one of America’s great cities.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a series of bills in 2021 that required every city in the state to increase the supply of new houses and create more affordable housing units.
The legislative package signed by Newsom a few years ago requires all California cities to collectively add at least 2.5 million new housing units, a number more than twice the amount required by the state’s previous mandate.
Economists such as Chapman University President Emeritus Jim Doti have said the state’s effort to mandate increase housing is draconian, out of date and not based on economic analysis.
The Irvine Co. is developing several other housing projects, including Newport Beach’s Newport Center area and around Irvine, such as north of Portola Parkway, The Market Place and the University of California, Irvine.