OCTA will start their fourth Bravo! service, Route 553, on October 10th as part of their October Service Change taking place on October 9th.  Bravo! Route 553 will traverse on the same routing as the existing local Route 53 between ARTIC train station and near South Coast Plaza. Unlike its local counterpart, this Bravo! service will have less bus stops providing Route 553 passengers with reduced travel time along the corridor. The Route 553 bus stops appear to be placed where there are connecting bus routes (usually major intersections) and at major destinations such as Mainplace Mall a ..read more

Located at 717 S. Lyon Street in the City of Santa Ana's Lyon Street neighborhood, a residential development consisting of 51 townhouse units is proposed.  The 2.3 acre site is currently developed with a one story building, a commercial building, and a surface parking lot. To make way for the proposed residential development, the existing structures would be demolished.  The proposed 51 townhouse units would be contained within a total of 12 residential buildings. These townhouse units would be three stories.  Of the 51 townhouse units, the developer proposes eight afforda ..read more

Source: Meridian NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – Meridian, a full-service real estate developer, operator and owner of medical real estate, is pleased to announce that the company has closed escrow on the sale of its newly renovated, 53,574-square-foot medical office building in Santa Ana, California, to a large Southern California healthcare provider. The purchase price was $29.9 million.    The building is located at 3601 W. Sunflower Avenue within the South Coast Collection (SOCO) market of Orange County, an area undergoing significant revitalization. “The location of this prope ..read more

By: Chad Kim UC Irvine plans to construct an on-campus hospital at the north-west side of campus near Jamboree Rd and Campus Dr. UC Irvine campus is broken down into five sectors including the North Campus of which includes the planned new hospital: Source Looking closer at the North Campus sector, the project site is near Jamboree Rd to the west and the San Joaquin Freshwater Marsh to the east.  Source Now looking at the adjacent uses abutting the planned project site. To the right (north) there are UCI Facilities (bottom right portion would be used as a temporary ..read more

  By: Chad Kim Construction continues at the Town & Country Manor for the Assisted Living and Memory Care Building. Located at the northeast corner of Lawson Way and Memory Lane in the City of Santa Ana, the Town & Country Manor's newest addition continues construction, and is heading closer towards the finish line. Coverage about potentially developing the former parking lot and grassy area site was reported back in Dec 2014. This consisted of Town & Country Manor which proposed an eight story senior housing development: Rendering of previous proposal; Source: Cit ..read more

In case you missed it (ICYMI) below are some OC development headlines from the previous week: North Beach in San Clemente earns historic designation (OC Register) ($) Real estate news: Flex office building in Mission Viejo sells for $2.3 million (OC Register) ($) From Developing Orange County:  Large Mid-Rise Residential Development Rises Near MainPlace Mall ..read more

  By: Chad Kim Construction continues on two mid-rise residential buildings encompassing more than half a block.  Previous coverage on this large mid-rise residential development entailed two new mid-rise buildings. According to developer's (Fairfield Residential) webpage, the name of the two communities are: Aura Apartments and Vita Apartments. Rendering of Aura Apartments (Building A). Source: Fairfield Residential Rendering of Vita Apartments (Building B). Source: Fairfield Residential Prior to the construction of the new residential development, was the ..read more

  Source: Architects Orange By: Chad Kim  Once known as the "Rusty Skeleton",  which sat unfinished for greater than a decade, finds new life as construction continues on the Garden Brook Senior Village development in Garden Grove. If one were to look for an equivalence to Los Angeles's former "Target Husk", "Rusty Skeleton" would be its Orange County counterpart. The structure is a relic to the real estate development boom prior to the Great Recession, while also a reminder of the aftermath from the Great Recession. Previous coverage of this project site can be found ..read more

  Source: Architects Orange By: Chad Kim  Construction ramps up at VRV, the future 5 story mixed use development with 300 apartment units. Below shows a before and after photo of the project site:  Source: Google Maps Facing northward on Stanford Ave. The after photo shows a fenced off site with the removal of the former commercial buildings, and in its place rises the rebar columns.  Facing eastward along Beach Blvd. Previous coverage of VRV can be found here: https://www.developingoc.com/2020/12/vrv-planned-5-story-mixe ..read more

  By: Chad Kim Developer, Community Development Partners, proposes an 85 unit affordable housing development in the City of Santa Ana near the intersection of Westminster Ave and Fairview St. The project site is located at 2530 and 2534 Westminster Ave, and was part of the City's competitive program for building affordable housing. Four different proposals were considered by the City, and through this reviewing process, Community Development Partners along with Mercy Housing Living Centers was selected based on their highest rated proposal.  Currently, the existing use at the 2.05 ..read more