Sweet Orange

As I wrote previously, construction of the Ivy neighborhood in Irvine’s Woodbury East development was originally planned to be completed a few years ago. The developers delayed the development date in the hope that market conditions would improve.

The developers of the nearby Great Park Neighborhoods also planned to begin construction a few years ago, but they too put their original plans for residential development on hold. However, they are proceeding with construction of educational and commercial buildings.

Back in March 2008 Lennar’s updated their plans for the Great Park Neighborhoods residential construction as follows:

Availability:

• Land sales that would allow developers to start building would begin in 2009
• First vertical development would be in place/sold by December 2010
• All development would be complete by 2015

Type of Units, Number of Units, Pricing:

• Single-family detached-1100 units @ $1,700,000 each
• Condos (LLD)-60 units @ $650,000 each
• Senior housing-600 units @ $400,000 each
• Residential golf course-635 units @ $750,000 each
• Multi-unit (transit-oriented development-TOD)-686 units @ $690,000
• Low to moderate senior housing-200 units, price not specified
• Low to moderate multi-family housing-344 units, price not specified

Of course, a lot of time has gone by since this March 2008 update was made, and I am sure this information will change when the Great Park Neighborhood developers provide a new update.  Currently, the developers are keeping this information close to their vest as they gauge the market trends.

But I have a suggestion: Using the successful sell out the first phase of the Ivy development as an example, start the residential development in the Great Park with small, affordable homes. This is a niche in the Orange County housing market that has been ignored, and, as the quick sell out of the available Ivy homes shows, a pent up demand for this small and, therefore, more affordable housing exists.

Perhaps this is already on the planning board. We will see.

For a quick definition of the Orange County Great Park, see “The Orange County Great Park Revisited.” Also see “Orange County Great Park: Free Summer Events and the Jewel of Orange County Fundraiser,” and “The Orange County Great Park: Cirque du Soleil, Free Concerts Series, and Free Balloon Rides.”

Reference: Housing Availability at the Orange County Great Park

PHOTO IS OF A FORMER EL TORO MARINE BASE HANGAR THAT LENNAR CONVERTED FOR USE IN THE GREAT PARK NEIGHBORHOODS

Note: For updated pricing information, click here. sw 9-29-09

Small Homes Sell: Case in Point, the Ivy neighborhood in Irvine’s Woodbury East Development

In the current housing market, developers have difficulty selling their new constructions. So the quick sell out of the 13 available homes in Ivy, a neighborhood in the Woodbury East development in Irvine, might provide insight on a way forward for the building industry. The Ivy homes sold out within approximately 15 minutes of the July 11th grand opening. The key is that these Irvine Company homes (built by William Lyons Homes) fill a need and desire for smaller and, therefore, more affordable homes.

Developers in Orange County have largely neglected building the homes that fit this smaller model. For example, a few years back John Laing Homes (now bankrupt) built the first Woodbury East homes in the Celadon neighborhood. Only 8 of the larger Celadon homes (1594-1782 square feet) were built, and they remain unsold. When the Caledon homes went on sale in 2007, the asking price was in the mid-$500,000.

Perhaps the building industry is taking note of the Ivy-Caledon example and is including this information in their upcoming business models.

More Ivy development details: Current plans call for the Ivy development to eventually consist of 58 homes that range in size from 1180 square feet to 1503 square feet. Prices will range from $349,990 to $423,990. The next round of sales will be in four to six weeks. In addition to the principal, interest and property taxes, home ownership costs will consists of approximately $3,971 in Mello Roos fees, $134 for the monthly master association fee, and $175 for the monthly sub-association fee. Homes will be ready for move-in some time in 2010.

Additional posts on the Ivy development:

• Ivy. an Irvine Woodbury East Development, Opens with Smaller, More Affordable Housing Options
• Pros and Cons of New Irvine Development: Ivy, a Woodbury East Neighborhood
• Deja Vu in Woodbury East! Phase Two Iof vy Development Sells Out in 15 Minutes–Prices Increased

At times, I will be writing about the Orange County Great Park development, so I thought that I would provide a brief overview that defines the transformation of this approximately seven square miles of this former airbase. This overview will provide a reference point for the future posts.

PHOTO OF CONVERTED HANGAR COURTESY LENNAR’S GREAT PARK NEIGHBORHOODS

The Orange County Great Park, which was once the El Toro Marine Air Base and is approximately twice the size of New York’s Central Park, is being developed by the City of Irvine as one of the first great metropolitan parks of the 21st century. The City’s vision is to provide a recreational, cultural and social gathering spot for Orange County residents as well as others who are near to or far from Orange County. As Central Park, Balboa Park and Golden Gate Park are great metropolitan parks built in previous eras, the City’s vision for the Orange County Great Park is that it will be a great metropolitan park built in this era.

Homebuilder Lennar owns and is developing the land that, roughly speaking, surrounds the publicly held city land. Lennar’s vision is to create housing adjacent to the public development as well as build commercial, educational, and recreational features. Lennar is calling its development The Great Park Neighborhoods. While Leannar and the City of Irvine are responsible for the development of their respective areas, these two entities are working cooperatively in this development.

With the recent submission of the Comprehensive Park Design to the Great Park board, development of the park is ready to move from planning to implementation.

“Design and engineering of Park’s elements and infrastructure are contained in the Comprehensive Park Design. Design elements include the Sports Park, Wildlife Corridor, Agua Chinon, upper and lower canyon, the Lake, the Bosque, agriculture elements, and many other features identified by a variety of stakeholders throughout the planning and design process.”—from the Orange County Great Park website

• Video of an overview of the development of the Orange County Great Park
• Video of the free Orange County Great Park balloon rides

Awards received:

• American Planning Association, National Excellence Award for Innovation in Regional Planning
• American Society of Landscape Architects, Professional Award of Honor for Analysis and Planning

Note: This overview is mostly a reprint from one of my Redfin posts. To read the complete post, see “The Orange County Great Park: Is This Thing Buildable?” and “Building the Orange County Great Park: Do You Want Common, or Do You Want Visionary?”