Two new proposals for Orange County housing are the latest examples of how dying shopping spaces are becoming a key birthplace for residential development.
Homebuilders are submitting plans to the cities of Westminster and Aliso Viejo that could produce a total of 1,529 more housing units on what’s essentially retail wasteland.
Today, finding undeveloped land with the possibility of home development is a rarity in Orange County. So builders and city planners are looking at reusing underutilized properties such as ailing retailing hubs.
This pair of proposals would build homes – plus spaces for new merchants – at high-profile shopping locales: the Westminster Mall and Aliso Viejo Town Center.
Westminster
Shopoff Realty Investments, an Irvine-based developer, last year bought two key pieces of the Westminster Mall and its parking lots with the idea of retooling 26 acres.
The idea, if approved, would put 1,065 rental units and 102 ownership townhomes on parts of the poorly performing, half-century-old traditional indoor mall. Plans would include roughly 10% affordable units.
These rentals will run from studios to two bedrooms and 600 to 1,100 square feet. The townhomes will have two or three bedrooms and average 1,376 square feet.
In addition to the housing at what Shopoff is calling “Bolsa Pacific,” there would be a site for “food hall-style dining,” a 2.5-acre park and a 175-room hotel.
Shopoff expects the city approval process to take almost two years with a groundbreaking in 2025.
RELATED: Developers propose 576 homes in Orange, some at the mall
“We are envisioning a vibrant center where housing, hospitality, retail and nature come together,” said Shopoff CEO William Shopoff. “This community will help to reinvigorate the local economy and bring value to the county and surrounding neighborhoods, elevating this prime piece of Orange County real estate into its highest and best use.”
Aliso Viejo
Big apartment owner AvalonBay Communities, based in Virginia, wants to build 362 rentals on what’s largely underused parking spaces of the open-air Town Center.
The Avalon Aliso Viejo project would be built on 4.4 acres and include some street-level shopping and parking structures with 543 spaces.
The development would be next to the rebirth of shuttered retail space at Town Center’s northern end — where other developers are planning a 99 Ranch Market and a Tesla showroom.
AvalonBay’s rental complex would have units ranging from studios to three bedrooms with 612 to 1,444 square feet of living space. The complex would include 36 affordable units.
If the city agrees, AvalonBay hopes to start construction in 2025 and be finished by late 2027.
“This project ensures Aliso Viejo is creating housing solutions where residents can live, work, and play,” said Mark Janda, an AvalonBay senior vice president. “Aliso Viejo boasts a tremendously vibrant quality of life, and we are thrilled to help make the city’s core a community hub destination.”
Bigger picture
The success of online shopping has made life difficult for many older, in-person shopping spots. That economic turmoil creates real estate opportunities by turning empty shops and parking into prime targets for residential redevelopment.
A perfect example can be seen from the 5 freeway in Laguna Hills near El Toro Road.
Rubble is all that remains of the Laguna Hills Mall, another 1970s-era indoor shopping mall. Its recent demolition sets the stage for The Village, a project with plans for apartments, shopping, offices and a hotel.
But let’s remember that most cities cherish retailing because of the sales tax revenue it generates to pay government bills. Property taxes are a far smaller part of most cities’ budgets.
So, it’s often hard to convince municipalities to trade retailing space for residential development, despite the obvious local need for more homes – not to mention state mandates for housing construction.
In Westminster, Aliso Viejo and Laguna Hills, the fiscal gamble is that adding residences to a shopping district will not only boost the city’s housing supply but those residents will help boost the business of nearby merchants – cha-ching – and sales tax receipts.
Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com
Source: Orange County Register
Be First to Comment