Posted July 2026 | By Eric Engelbert | Updated as the project progresses.
Legado at the Met: 278 Class A Apartments Rising on MacArthur Boulevard in South Santa Ana
Legado at the Met is a six-story, 278-unit market-rate apartment development being constructed at 200 East First American Way in Santa Ana, directly across the street from First American Financial Corporation's global headquarters. Beverly Hills-based Legado Companies secured $128 million in construction-to-permanent financing for the project in January 2024, one of the larger institutional construction loan packages arranged for a multifamily project in Orange County that year. As of June 2026, the city's development tracker showed construction at approximately 80% through the framing phase, with delivery expected later in 2026 or early 2027.
This is a rental community, not for-sale ownership, which makes it relevant to two different groups of people: prospective renters looking for Class A housing in a location with exceptional freeway and airport access, and homeowners and investors who want to understand where the rental market is heading in south Santa Ana and how new Class A supply affects their own property values and rent comparisons.
The Site: Vacant Land at the Heart of Santa Ana's Corporate Campus District
The parcel at 200 E. First American Way was vacant at the time Legado Companies began development. The site occupies the northeast corner of MacArthur Boulevard and MacArthur Place, within a corridor that already contains some of the most significant corporate office campuses in Orange County. First American Financial Corporation, the Fortune 500 title insurance and settlement services company, operates its world headquarters directly across First American Way from the project site. The street itself was named after First American, reflecting the company's long-standing presence and influence in this part of Santa Ana.
The MacArthur corridor in south Santa Ana sits approximately two miles from John Wayne Airport (SNA) and is surrounded by a dense cluster of professional services, financial institutions, and technology employers. South Coast Plaza is roughly two miles to the west. The 405 and 55 freeways are accessible within minutes, and the 73 toll road connects south toward Newport Beach and Laguna. For renters who work in the financial or corporate sector and need proximity to both the airport and the beach communities, this location is positioned as well as any address in central Orange County.
The fact that the parcel was vacant when Legado acquired it means the project did not require building demolition or business relocation. There is no disclosed prior contamination or remediation requirement in publicly available city records, consistent with a site that appears to have been held as undeveloped commercial land within an otherwise built-out office district.
Unit Mix, Floor Plans, Parking, and Amenities
Legado at the Met will offer 278 apartments across studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom configurations. Unit sizes span from 612 square feet on the compact studio end to 1,783 square feet on the largest three-bedroom layouts. The six-story structure includes loft-style units within the building design, which creates additional variation in ceiling height and floor plan character beyond what a uniform mid-rise typically offers. WHA Architects designed the building.
The parking structure is notable for its scale: a four-level garage with 617 total spaces, including one above-ground level and three subterranean levels. At 278 apartments served by 617 stalls, that works out to approximately 2.2 spaces per unit on average, which is unusually generous for an urban Class A apartment building in California and reflects the auto-oriented nature of the MacArthur corridor despite its proximity to major employers who may eventually connect to transit options.
Compact urban floor plan
Ideal for solo professionals
Airport and freeway access
Open-concept layouts
6-story building
Loft options available
Multiple configurations
Suited for roommates or couples
2-car access via 617-stall garage
Largest floor plans in community
Family-suitable
Comparable to ownership pricing
| Community Name | Legado at the Met |
|---|---|
| Address | 200 E. First American Way, Santa Ana, CA 92707 |
| Total Units | 278 apartments |
| Unit Types | Studio, 1BR, 2BR, 3BR |
| Square Footage | 612 to 1,783 SF |
| Building Height | 6 stories (with lofts) |
| Parking | 617-space garage (1 above grade + 3 subterranean levels) |
| Ownership Type | Rental (not for-sale ownership) |
| Site | Vacant at time of development; NE corner of MacArthur Blvd and MacArthur Place |
| Developer | Legado Companies (Beverly Hills) |
| Architecture | WHA Architects |
| Construction Financing | $128 million (3-tranche, 3 life company lenders via Gantry Inc.) |
| Loan Brokers | George Mitsanas and Amit Tyagi, Gantry Inc., Los Angeles |
| Nearby Landmark | First American Financial Corp. global headquarters (across the street) |
| Construction Status | Framing phase, approx. 80% complete (as of June 2026) |
| City Planner | Nancy Tran, AICP — Senior Planner |
Planned Amenities
The project is designed as a Class A community. Amenities include a rooftop yoga area, swimming pool, fitness center, business center, resident lounge, and clubhouse. The rooftop yoga component in particular is characteristic of post-2020 Class A apartment design, which now routinely incorporates dedicated wellness space at the building's highest vantage point. For renters comparing this building to nearby older inventory, the amenity package represents a meaningful qualitative upgrade over what most 1990s and 2000s-era apartment communities in the MacArthur corridor offer.
The $128 Million Construction Loan: What It Signals About the Market
In January 2024, Gantry Inc. announced it had arranged $128 million in construction-to-permanent financing for Legado at the Met on behalf of Legado Companies. The financing was structured in three tranches with three separate life company lenders, all of which Gantry will service over the loan term. This is an institutional-grade financing structure, not a typical bank construction loan. Life insurance companies, which serve as long-term lenders rather than bridge or construction lenders in most deals, committing to this project in three separate pieces signals that the long-term underwriting on the asset was compelling to multiple experienced capital sources simultaneously.
George Mitsanas and Amit Tyagi, both out of Gantry's Los Angeles production office, structured and placed the loan. Gantry is a national commercial mortgage banking firm that typically works on large institutional transactions, and their involvement underscores the scale and institutional seriousness of this project within the broader OC apartment market.
Construction financing at $128 million for 278 units works out to roughly $460,000 per apartment in total construction debt alone, before counting the land, soft costs, and developer equity contributed. That number reflects the cost of delivering Class A, concrete-podium construction in Orange County in 2024, and it helps explain why comparable rental rates in this type of building tend to run at the high end of the Santa Ana market. The capital structure demands rents that justify the investment, and Legado's 50-year track record and multi-tranche life company backing suggest they had strong conviction going in.
About the Developer: Legado Companies
Legado Companies is a Beverly Hills-based real estate developer with over 50 years of operating history. Founded in the mid-1970s, the company has developed more than 15,000 residences and over half a million square feet of retail space across its portfolio. Their work spans urban multifamily, affordable housing, senior living, hospitality, and public-private partnership projects throughout California and beyond.
Legado's affordable housing background is notable and distinguishes the company from purely market-rate developers. The firm has held and managed a 439-unit Low-Income Housing Tax Credit portfolio for decades, a long-term commitment that reflects a mission orientation uncommon in Beverly Hills-based development companies. More recently, Legado has also pursued market-rate urban projects, including The Eddy in Redondo Beach, which was built with a $75 million loan arranged in 2019.
Legado at the Met in Santa Ana represents Legado's most ambitious project in terms of financing scale, with the $128 million loan more than 70% larger than The Eddy's construction package. The company's willingness to commit to a 278-unit institutional development in Santa Ana, in a location surrounded by major corporate users, reflects both the company's confidence in the submarket and its institutional relationships with life company lenders who funded the deal.
What This Development Means for Buyers, Sellers, and Renters in the Area
For renters, Legado at the Met will add a meaningful new option to a part of Santa Ana that has historically had limited Class A apartment supply. The MacArthur corridor near John Wayne Airport has been dominated by aging office buildings and older apartment stock, with very little new residential construction at this quality level in recent years. When the building opens, prospective tenants should expect rents consistent with Class A delivery in Orange County: studios likely in the low-to-mid $2,000s per month, one-bedrooms ranging from the mid-$2,000s to $3,000-plus, and larger units scaling up from there. Specific rents will depend on the market at the time of delivery and how absorption goes relative to the broader OC apartment market in late 2026 and 2027.
For homeowners and sellers in south Santa Ana and surrounding areas, large new rental communities like this one have a nuanced effect on ownership markets. On one hand, they provide an alternative for residents who otherwise might have purchased, keeping some demand in the rental pool. On the other hand, Class A rental supply in a previously underserved corridor can attract new residents who eventually convert to buyers after establishing themselves in the area. The long-term demographic effect of bringing 278 well-employed renters into south Santa Ana's consumer base is generally positive for the surrounding commercial and residential ecology.
For investors tracking rent comparables, Legado at the Met will set a new ceiling for achievable rents in the immediate MacArthur corridor. Once the building stabilizes, those lease rates become public comps that lenders and appraisers use when underwriting other properties in the area. Investors who own nearby multifamily properties should monitor the building's absorption closely.
Renting vs. Buying in South Santa Ana? We Can Help You Compare.
Whether you are trying to decide between renting at a new community like Legado at the Met or purchasing a home in the area, the math looks different for every buyer depending on timeline, income, down payment, and goals. We work with buyers and sellers across Santa Ana and all of Orange County and can walk you through a current rent-vs-buy analysis with real numbers.
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