Posted July 2026 | By Eric Engelbert | Updated as the project progresses.
830 Apartments at Centerpointe: The Largest Single Residential Proposal in Irvine's IBC Pipeline
Of all the residential conversion projects proposed in Irvine's Irvine Business Complex, the Centerpointe campus on MacArthur Boulevard is the one with the most compelling combination of scale and location. A Vesting Tentative Tract Map, Conditional Use Permit application, and Park Plan were filed with the City of Irvine in May 2025, proposing to redevelop 14.21 acres of the Centerpointe office campus into a residential community of up to 830 units. The site sits immediately west of Newport Center, the Fashion Island area of Newport Beach, making it one of the most prime-location residential conversion opportunities in all of Orange County.
Eight hundred and thirty apartments in a location adjacent to Fashion Island, minutes from Newport Beach's dining and shopping core, within a short drive of John Wayne Airport and the employment corridors along MacArthur Boulevard and Jamboree Road, is a development program with obvious market rationale. The developer has not been publicly confirmed in city filings at the time this post was written. City planner Erica Hong is the assigned project contact.
The Site: 14.21 Acres of the Centerpointe Office Campus, Adjacent to Newport Center
The Centerpointe office campus on MacArthur Boulevard in Irvine occupies a location that has historically been associated with high-quality suburban office use catering to professional services, financial firms, and technology companies. MacArthur Boulevard is one of Orange County's primary north-south office corridors, running from the 405 Freeway through the airport area and toward the coast, passing through the zone where Irvine and Newport Beach share borders and employment base.
The specific significance of "immediately west of Newport Center" cannot be overstated for a residential context. Newport Center is the name for the district encompassing Fashion Island, Newport Beach's premier retail destination, along with the surrounding concentration of office towers, hotels, medical offices, and financial services firms that make it one of the highest-rent and most sought-after business addresses in Orange County. Residents of a project on MacArthur Boulevard just west of that district would have walking or very short driving access to the Fashion Island shopping, dining, and entertainment ecosystem, while paying Irvine rents rather than the premium that Newport Beach addresses command.
At 14.21 acres, the Centerpointe site is the largest single parcel in the Irvine IBC residential conversion pipeline discussed in this series. The VTTM proposed would consolidate the 14.21 acres into a single residential lot, clearing the legal structure necessary to develop a unified residential community across what may currently be multiple office parcels within the campus.
Up to 830 Units: What We Know About the Proposed Development
The city filings from May 2025 describe a project of "up to 830 units," which is the maximum proposed in the VTTM application. The actual delivered unit count may be somewhat lower depending on how the Master Plan and architecture develop through the entitlement process, what parking and open space requirements are imposed through the CUP conditions, and what the ultimate building configuration looks like on the 14.21-acre site. At typical multifamily densities for mid-rise construction in the airport area, 830 units on 14.21 acres implies roughly 58 units per acre, which suggests a project likely composed of mid-rise apartment buildings rather than high-rise towers or low-density garden apartments.
No floor plan details, proposed rent ranges, or architectural renderings have been released publicly at this stage of the entitlement process. The developer's identity, once confirmed through subsequent city filings or press releases, will provide additional context about the likely product positioning and design approach. Given the location adjacent to Newport Center and the scale of the project, a developer with experience in premium airport-area and coastal-adjacent multifamily would be a natural fit.
The CUP process will be significant for a project of this scale. Conditional Use Permits for large residential projects in IBC-zoned areas give the Planning Commission the opportunity to establish specific operational conditions: building height limits, setbacks from MacArthur Boulevard and adjacent properties, noise attenuation requirements for units facing the street or the airport flight path, traffic management obligations, and design standards that ensure the project's character is consistent with the premium location.
Market-rate rental likely
Mid-rise building format
Final count TBD
19712 MacArthur Blvd
Centerpointe campus
Irvine, CA 92612
Fashion Island proximity
MacArthur Blvd frontage
Airport area, Irvine border
CUP May 2025
Park Plan May 2025
Planning Commission review
| Project Address | 19712 MacArthur Boulevard, Irvine, CA 92612 (Centerpointe campus) |
|---|---|
| Proposed Units | Up to 830 apartments |
| Site Size | 14.21 acres |
| Site Name | Centerpointe office campus |
| Planning Area | PA 36 (Irvine Business Complex) |
| Location | Immediately west of Newport Center (Fashion Island district) |
| Developer | Not publicly confirmed at time of writing |
| VTTM Filed | May 2025 (14.21 acres into 1 lot, up to 830 units) |
| CUP Filed | May 2025 |
| Park Plan Filed | May 2025 |
| City Planner | Erica Hong |
| Project Status | Entitlements under review |
The VTTM, CUP, and What Happens Next
The May 2025 applications at Centerpointe include three distinct entitlement instruments that work together to authorize the residential conversion. The Vesting Tentative Tract Map is the foundational legal document that consolidates the 14.21-acre campus into a single residential tract, establishing the lot configuration that will govern how the project is built and, if applicable, how individual units might eventually be sold. The "vesting" component of the VTTM provides the same kind of regulatory freeze that SB 330 pre-applications provide: conditions in place on the date of the vested VTTM application generally govern the project through construction, protecting the developer from subsequent regulation changes.
The Conditional Use Permit is the mechanism by which the city authorizes residential use on land that is currently designated for commercial or office development in Planning Area 36. The CUP hearing before the Planning Commission is where the public can comment on the project's design, traffic impacts, neighborhood compatibility, and any other concerns relevant to siting an 830-unit residential community at this location. The commission will establish conditions of approval that become binding on the developer and the eventual property owner, running with the land regardless of changes in ownership or management.
The Park Plan addresses Irvine's parkland dedication obligation. An 830-unit project generates a substantial dedication requirement under the city's per-unit formula. The specific resolution, whether through land dedication, in-lieu fee payment, or a combination of the two, will be established as part of the CUP conditions or through a separate Development Agreement if the project's scale warrants that level of planning document.
City planner Erica Hong has also been assigned to the Newport Summit project at 19600 Fairchild Road, suggesting that the Jamboree/MacArthur corridor's residential conversion applications are being handled by a team with concentrated expertise in the area's planning issues.
The Newport Center Adjacency: Why Location Makes This Project Different
Every one of the seven Irvine projects covered in this blog series is in or near the Irvine Business Complex, and most are within a tight geographic cluster around MacArthur Boulevard and Jamboree Road. But the Centerpointe campus occupies a different position in that cluster. Where most IBC residential conversions are oriented around the freeway access and employment density of the airport area, Centerpointe is also adjacent to the Newport Center district, one of the most aspirational retail and commercial destinations in Orange County.
Fashion Island is a five to ten minute walk or a very short drive from a building on MacArthur Boulevard at Centerpointe. That proximity to high-quality retail, including anchor department stores, specialty boutiques, restaurants, and entertainment, is a tenant amenity that no apartment building can replicate internally. Tenants who value walkable access to a premium shopping and dining environment will pay a premium to live close to it, which is one reason why the MacArthur/Newport Center edge of Irvine commands higher rents than equivalent product deeper in the IBC.
The UCI Health hospital campus along Jamboree is also a short drive from Centerpointe, adding a large and growing employment anchor to the location's appeal. Newport Beach employment in financial services, wealth management, and professional services is similarly accessible. For a renter who works in either the airport-area office market or the Newport Center professional services cluster, Centerpointe represents one of the best-positioned new residential addresses in the county.
Whether the project is structured as apartments, condominiums, or some combination will be determined through the entitlement process and developer decision-making. Given the site's premium location and the scale of the investment required for 830 units on 14 acres, a well-capitalized institutional developer with experience in coastal Orange County multifamily is the most likely eventual partner for this project.
Interested in the MacArthur Boulevard Corridor or Newport Center-Adjacent Homes?
The Centerpointe residential project is in early entitlement and has not yet received Planning Commission approval. We track all active IBC development and follow the MacArthur Boulevard and Newport Center corridors closely, including both new construction and resale opportunities in nearby Newport Beach, Irvine, and the airport area. Contact us for updates on this project or to explore what is available right now.
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