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IIrvine’s City Council members will soon have another housing project to consider—specifically a proposal for 1,858 apartment units near the corner of Laguna Canyon Road and Discovery, a few miles north of the Irvine Spectrum District and near Great Park.
The apartment project, proposed to be built by the Irvine Company at Irvine’s Discovery Park, was unanimously recommended by the Irvine Planning Commission last month. Irvine Co. would build the 1,858 units across four wrap-style buildings, each one rising five floors.
The recent approval signals a big residential construction push from Newport Beach-based Irvine Co., the largest owner of apartments in Orange County. Altogether, the Irvine Co. is proposing or constructing about 8,700 homes and apartments throughout Irvine.
All units at Discovery Park would be built on a site that’s currently vacant and surrounded by existing office buildings. The land is zoned for medical and science uses but also allows for residential development.
The plan calls for 596 studios, 802 one-bedrooms and 460 two-bedrooms. Units will range in size from 367 to 1,727 square feet.
The project includes an affordable housing plan for moderate- and very-low-income units. The housing project features public benefit funding of at least $14,725 per unit, according to city staff reports. At least 310 of the 1,858 units must be allocated as affordable for a 75-year period.
More than 5,000 square feet of retail space is also proposed.
The project’s architectural style would incorporate Spanish and Palazzo design themes. On-site amenities, as currently proposed, would include lounge pools, a fitness center, courtyard spaces with barbecue grills and spas.
The proposed project also calls for nearly eight acres of landscaping and a 2.56-acre publicly accessible private park.
The Discovery Park proposal was recommended the same day the Planning Commission advanced another Irvine Co. project that calls for 2,500 housing units near the University of California, Irvine.
Irvine Co.’s Housing Surge
Irvine Co.’s proposal to build nearly 1,900 apartment units at Discovery Park is the company’s latest plan to infuse thousands of new homes in one of Orange County’s most populous cities.
Its other housing proposal at Oak Creek Golf Course calls for the creation of a new village, located at the end of the Irvine Spectrum District. It would bring 3,100 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.
Converting Oak Creek Golf Course into a large-scale residential neighborhood must still go through the planning commission and city council.
The planning commission also recommended an Irvine Co. proposal for 2,500 housing units, where University Drive meets the San Joaquin Transportation Corridor (Highway 73).
The company is building about 1,261 apartments on the Irvine side of The Market Place, located east of Jamboree Road and north of the Santa Ana (5) Freeway. The housing units will replace roughly 200,000 square feet of retail space at the center between Bryan Avenue and El Camino Real.
Irvine is already home to 117,000 housing units, and the proposed developments at Discovery Park, University Research Park and Spectrum District would help the Central Orange County city meet its state-mandated goal of building around 58,000 new houses and apartments by the year 2045.
All California cities are required to add new housing units within their borders. Irvine General Plan Update requires additional new housing units to accommodate the city’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment, per city documents.