Irvine Company Eyeing Oak Creek Golf Club for New Homes

Irvine Company wants to redevelop an Irvine golf course and offices next door into a neighborhood of more than 3,000 homes.

The Newport Beach-based developer has filed plans to build 1,500 single-family homes atop the 193-acre Oak Creek Golf Club at 1 Golf Club Drive, the Orange County Register reported. It’s also looking to build 1,600 apartments on neighboring land once slated for office buildings, whose address was not disclosed.

The plan also includes a new school, paid for by the developer, to replace a nearby office complex. In addition, Irvine Company’s plans call for parks, pools and pedestrian paths.

The project, dubbed Irvine Spectrum District Village, would stretch across 235 acres between Jeffrey Road and Sand Canyon Avenue, just south of the 5 freeway, not far from the bustling Irvine Spectrum Center.

Irvine Company proposes to pay the city up to $96 million in fees, including up to 2,000 vouchers for two years of heavily discounted apartment rents valued at $72 million.

Jeff Davis, senior vice president for the Irvine Company, said the village will be “one of Irvine’s most conveniently located communities” — with shopping, restaurants and proximity to the Irvine Metrolink station.

The project comes as Irvine seeks to fulfill its housing needs on limited land. The city itself is responsible for building 23,610 new homes by October 2029, according to the Southern California Association of Governments’ Regional Housing Needs Assessment; OC in general must build 183,861 homes by then.

Irvine Company said the proposed village is “responsive to city policy” as the Spectrum District was determined to be the ideal location to meet state housing mandates.

The community wasn’t left out of the process either. Irvine Company said over 90 percent of 7,000 survey respondents supported single-family homes in a village setup.

“Planning the Irvine way is about parks, schools and transportation,” Irvine Council member Mike Carroll, who represents the area. “This proposal appears to strike a good balance. It will be carefully reviewed to ensure consistency with those master planning principles that make Irvine one of America’s great cities.”

On May 13, the city and the developer expect to hammer out a “memorandum of understanding” for the development at a public hearing. The golf course will remain open for play — for upwards of $200 a round — until potential building plans are finalized.

rvine Company, owned by the nation’s richest developer, Donald Bren, traces its roots to a 19th century ranch.

The firm owns 129 million square feet of property, including 590 office buildings, 125 apartment complexes with 65,000 units, 40 shopping centers, a coastal resort, three golf courses and five marinas across the U.S., of which 65 percent is in OC, according to its website.

— Chris Malone Méndez