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July 16, 2026

180 Senior Apartments Coming to La Paz Village in Laguna Hills

By Eric Engelbert

New Senior Housing Coming to South Orange County

A $130 million senior housing project has been approved at the La Paz Village shopping center on La Paz Road in Laguna Hills. The development will bring 180 apartments for residents 55 and older to a part of South Orange County that already has strong demand for age-qualified housing.

The project, developed by Nick Buchanan of La Paz Village Investors LLC and Cape Point Development, was approved by the Laguna Hills City Council in September 2025. It went through a contentious approval process involving California’s builder’s remedy law, significant public opposition, and a lawsuit that is still active. Despite all of that, the project has its approvals and is moving forward.

For anyone considering senior living options in South OC, or for families helping a parent evaluate the area, here is what you need to know about this project and what it adds to the local housing landscape.

The Site: La Paz Village Shopping Center

La Paz Village is an existing retail center at 25552 La Paz Road in Laguna Hills, located near the intersection of La Paz Road and Paseo de Valencia. Nick Buchanan purchased the approximately 4-acre shopping center in 2022 for $23.5 million through his company Cape Point Development, with a stated intention to add residential uses to the site.

The shopping center remains partially active. The new senior apartment building will replace a portion of the existing retail space rather than the entire center. Existing tenants not in the redevelopment footprint continue to operate, which includes the Orange County Realtors trade association office, whose presence on the property has become a notable part of this project’s story (more on that below).

Buchanan initially explored a townhome development for the site before pivoting to senior housing, which opened a path to approval under California’s density bonus and builder’s remedy laws.

The Building: 180 Units for Residents 55 and Older

The approved project is a five-story, 61-foot building containing 180 apartments reserved exclusively for residents ages 55 and up. The unit mix breaks down as follows:

  • 16 studios at approximately 390 square feet
  • 93 one-bedroom units ranging from 519 to 800 square feet
  • 71 two-bedroom units ranging from 888 to 1,040 square feet

The building includes a 253-stall parking structure and a full amenity package designed for active senior living: activity rooms, a theater, fitness center, swimming pool, salon, and community courtyards. The design is intended to support an independent lifestyle with on-site conveniences that reduce the need for residents to leave the property for daily activities.

Of the 180 units, 162 will be rented at market rate and 18 will be reserved for very low-income tenants (10% of total units). The affordable units were a required component of the builder’s remedy application, as explained below.

What Is Builder’s Remedy and Why Was It Used Here?

Builder’s remedy is a provision in California’s Housing Accountability Act that allows a developer to bypass certain local zoning and general plan restrictions when a city’s housing element is not in compliance with state law. In plain terms: if a city has not met its state-mandated housing planning requirements, developers can bring projects that would otherwise be denied and the city has very limited ability to say no.

To use builder’s remedy, the project must include a meaningful share of affordable units. In this case, Buchanan’s project provides 10% of units at very low-income rents, which meets the threshold.

Laguna Hills, like many South OC cities, had a housing element that was not certified as compliant with state requirements at the time this application was filed. That opened the door to the builder’s remedy application. The city was effectively in a position where state law gave it limited grounds to reject the project outright, which is why council members who were skeptical of the project still voted to approve it. The final vote was 3 to 1, with Councilmember Erica Pezold casting the lone no vote.

Builder’s remedy has become an increasingly common tool in Southern California as the state has tightened enforcement of housing element law. It is controversial in many communities, but it is legal and it is being used successfully by developers across Orange County.

The OC Realtors Lawsuit: An Unusual Turn

The approval of the La Paz Village project did not end the conflict. On January 7, 2026, Buchanan’s La Paz Village Investors LLC filed a lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court against the Orange County Realtors trade association, which occupies office space in the La Paz Village shopping center and owns an adjacent parcel with access easements across portions of Buchanan’s property.

The lawsuit alleges that OC Realtors and its contractors conducted unauthorized activity on the property, including excavating asphalt, staging heavy equipment, and blocking access to the shopping center. According to the complaint, the developer says OC Realtors initially appeared to support the redevelopment but stopped communicating as construction-related activity increased in the fall of 2025.

OC Realtors has not publicly responded in detail to the allegations. The lawsuit was ongoing as of early 2026.

This situation is worth noting for anyone following the project. It does not change the project’s approval status, but disputes over site access and easement rights can affect construction timelines. The resolution of this lawsuit will likely influence when the developer is able to fully mobilize on the site.

Senior Housing Demand in South Orange County

South Orange County has one of the highest concentrations of residents 55 and older in the region. Communities like Laguna Woods and Casta del Sol in Mission Viejo have served this population for decades, offering age-qualified ownership housing in established, amenity-rich settings. Those communities remain extremely popular and resale inventory is consistently limited.

The La Paz Village senior apartments address a different part of the senior housing market: rental apartments for people who want the flexibility of renting rather than owning, or who are not yet ready to buy into a 55+ community. It also adds a very low-income rental option for seniors on fixed incomes who have been priced out of the market entirely.

The location on La Paz Road puts the building close to medical services, including Saddleback Memorial Medical Center, and within a short drive of Mission Viejo, Laguna Hills, and Lake Forest. For seniors who are evaluating a move to South OC, this project adds a rental option that did not previously exist in this specific area.

If you are exploring 55+ communities and senior living options across Orange County, our team specializes in this market and can help you understand all of your options, from ownership communities like Laguna Woods and Casta del Sol to rental developments like this one.

What to Watch Going Forward

The project has its city approvals in place. The next steps depend on resolving the active lawsuit with OC Realtors, securing construction financing, and completing building permit processing. Given the $130 million project cost, construction financing will be a key factor in the timeline.

No construction start date has been publicly announced. If the easement dispute and financing come together in 2026, construction could realistically start in 2026 or 2027, putting a likely delivery date in the 2028 to 2029 range depending on construction pace for a five-story building of this scale.

For seniors or family members actively planning a move, this project is worth tracking but is not a near-term housing option. The ownership communities in the area, including Laguna Woods and Casta del Sol, offer homes available for purchase right now.

Looking for Senior Housing in South OC?

I have worked extensively in the senior living communities of South Orange County and know this market well. Whether you are looking to buy in an established 55+ community or want to understand all of the options available in the area, I can help you find the right fit.

Search current listings: Laguna Woods  |  Casta del Sol  |  All OC 55+ Communities

Call or text Eric at 949-430-7500  |  Schedule: cal.com/eric-engelbert
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July 16, 2026

Laguna Hills Mall Is Gone. Here Is What Is Coming Next.

By Eric Engelbert

The End of a 50-Year Landmark

If you drove past the corner of El Toro Road and Laguna Hills Mall Road in the last couple of years, you watched a piece of South Orange County history disappear. The Laguna Hills Mall, which opened in 1973 and operated for 45 years, has been completely demolished. The 867,000-square-foot enclosed mall that once held 120 stores is gone.

What is going up in its place is Village at Laguna Hills, a mixed-use neighborhood being developed by Merlone Geier Partners that will bring housing, hotels, retail, a specialty grocer, green space, and a new community gathering spot to a site that has sat empty since the mall closed at the end of 2018.

Here is the full story: where the mall came from, how it ended, and what Laguna Hills looks like when this project is finished.

Built in 1973 for a Different Era

The Laguna Hills Mall was developed by The Hahn Company and Rossmoor Corporation and designed by Edward Killingsworth, a respected modernist architect based in Long Beach known for Palm Springs residential work and several Southern California projects. The mall cost an estimated $50 million to build and opened in phases starting in the spring of 1973.

It was built in two phases. Phase I delivered 393,000 square feet of retail with 55 stores. Phase II expanded it to 832,000 square feet with 83 stores. At its peak the mall had 120 tenants and four anchor department stores serving a rapidly growing suburban South OC population that had few other shopping options at the time.

For decades it was a true regional center. It was where South County families shopped, where teenagers spent weekends, and where generations of Orange County residents have clear memories. That era is over.

The Anchor Stores: How They Each Left

The Laguna Hills Mall had four anchor tenants over its history. None of them relocated to another local mall. All four exits were driven by corporate-level decisions or chain liquidations.

Buffums was the first casualty. A Southern California department store chain that opened its Laguna Hills location on September 5, 1973 in a two-level, 50,000-square-foot space, Buffums closed in May 1991 when the entire chain was liquidated. The space sat partially repurposed for years, with the second floor eventually converted into a food court that operated from 1994 to 2011.

Sears was the original anchor, opening with the mall in the spring of 1973 in a massive 214,000-square-foot store. Merlone Geier Partners separately purchased the Sears building after acquiring the mall in 2013. Sears closed its Laguna Hills location in July 2014. The national Sears chain went bankrupt in 2018 and has largely ceased to exist.

The Broadway opened in August 1975. Like many mid-century department store chains, The Broadway was eventually absorbed into the Macy’s system, and the Laguna Hills location was rebranded as Macy’s in May 1996. That Macy’s closed in March 2018 as part of a national round of 11 store closures. When Macy’s announced it was leaving, active construction on the mall redevelopment came to a halt, since the plan had counted on Macy’s staying as an anchor.

J.C. Penney opened in 1976 and was the last anchor standing. It closed in October 2018, leaving the mall with no anchor tenants at all. The mall itself closed for good on December 31, 2018. Exterior pad stores remained open after the interior enclosed mall shut down.

Simon Property Group: From Laguna Hills to Brea

Before Merlone Geier Partners took over, the Laguna Hills Mall was owned by Simon Property Group, one of the largest mall operators in the country. Simon sold the property to Merlone Geier in May 2013 for $110 million as it became clear the enclosed mall model was no longer sustainable at this location.

What makes that transaction interesting to watch now is what Simon is doing with Brea Mall just up the 5 freeway. Rather than selling, Simon is leading the redevelopment of Brea Mall itself, transforming another aging Orange County enclosed mall into a mixed-use project with housing and updated retail. It is the same story playing out with a different cast: a major mall owner navigating the end of the enclosed mall era by either selling or redeveloping to a new use.

We have written about the Brea Mall redevelopment in a separate post. The two projects, Laguna Hills and Brea, are happening roughly in parallel and represent the same broader shift: the conversion of Southern California’s suburban mall inventory into housing and mixed-use neighborhoods.

The Demolition: Fall 2022 Through 2023

After years of planning, revised plans, market disruptions, and the pandemic, demolition of the enclosed mall finally began in the fall of 2022. The majority of the structure was down by February 2023. The Macy’s building, which had been one of the last major structures standing, was fully razed by April 2023.

The site is now cleared. A mall that took years to build and 45 years to operate was gone in a matter of months. For longtime Laguna Hills and South County residents, watching the towers and roof lines come down was a notable moment. The site at 24155 Laguna Hills Mall, once home to department stores and a food court and hundreds of shops, is now a flat development parcel waiting for what comes next.

Village at Laguna Hills: The Developer and the Plan

Merlone Geier Partners, the San Diego-based developer that purchased the property in 2013, has spent the years since working through several different visions for the site. An early concept was called “Five Lagunas.” A 2019 update added more housing. A 2022 plan was approved by the city. And a 2025/2026 modified plan reflects how much market conditions have changed since then.

The executive architect for the project is AO (formerly known as Architecture Orange), an Irvine-based firm that handles the multifamily and mixed-use components of the development. The architectural theme chosen for the entire project is Spanish Colonial Revival, a deliberate nod to Laguna Hills City Hall directly across El Toro Road. The intention is for the new neighborhood to feel connected to the civic identity of the city rather than looking like a generic commercial development.

The project is planned across five distinct neighborhoods within the site, each with its own character but all connected by a central park, walking paths, and internal streets designed for low speeds and pedestrian comfort.

The Housing: A Dramatic Shift From the Original Plan

This is where the project has changed the most. When the City of Laguna Hills approved the Village at Laguna Hills in 2022, the entire housing component was rental apartments only. All 1,500 units were planned as multi-family rentals. There were no for-sale homes in the original approved plan.

The 2026 modified plan looks dramatically different. The total unit count comes in at approximately 1,456 units, slightly below the 1,500 approved in 2022, but the product mix has been completely rethought. Instead of a rental-only development, the new plan includes:

  • Rental apartments in multiple complexes with dedicated parking structures
  • For-sale townhomes with individual garages
  • For-sale single-family detached homes

Going from a rental-only project to one that includes for-sale townhomes and detached single-family homes is a meaningful change for South OC buyers. The shift was driven by direct requests from the community and City Council, and it reflects a straightforward market reality: there is strong ownership demand in this part of Orange County that a rentals-only development would have left completely unmet.

The project also includes 200 units of affordable housing targeted specifically at seniors and veterans. Rather than scattering affordable units throughout the project over many years, the revised plan consolidates all 200 units into a single dedicated building constructed in one phase, so all units become available at once. The affordable building will be financed with low-income housing tax credits and tax-exempt bonds, with no additional subsidy required from the City of Laguna Hills. Rents will average 60% AMI with no fewer than 100 units at the low-income level. A non-profit operator will provide onsite services for residents.

If you are interested in homes for sale in Laguna Hills, this development will eventually add meaningful for-sale inventory to a city that has had relatively little new construction.

Retail, Hotels, and What It Means for the City’s Budget

The retail component has been trimmed and refocused compared to earlier plans. The current version calls for approximately 165,000 square feet of retail, down from earlier proposals that reached 880,000 square feet. The focus has shifted from traditional retail square footage to experiential retail: restaurants, shops organized around a central park, and a specialty grocer that was added to the revised plan to give residents a walkable daily errand option.

The cinema that was in the 2022 plan has been removed. Theater chains nationwide have struggled with the rise of streaming services, and Merlone Geier made the call to pull it rather than build a tenant that may not be viable long-term.

Instead, the entertainment energy is being redirected to outdoor space. The Village Park will serve as the community gathering point with a performance stage, a children’s play area, a dog park, holiday events including tree lightings, and a Festival Street designed for food truck events, art shows, and music. The park has been relocated in the revised plan to be visible from El Toro Road and adjacent to the nearby medical center, giving it better street presence.

On the hotel side, the project now includes two hotels totaling approximately 240 rooms, up from the single 100- to 150-room hotel in the original plan. Two hotel brands have already committed to the locations. One of the hotels is specifically targeting a 2028 opening to capture visitors coming to Southern California for the Los Angeles Olympics. The city stands to collect approximately $2.3 million per year in Transient Occupancy Tax from the two hotels, about $900,000 more annually than the one-hotel plan would have generated. For a city that lost significant sales tax revenue when the mall closed, that TOT revenue is an important part of the financial equation.

The revised traffic plan is also notably improved. The new configuration generates about 25% fewer daily traffic trips than the 2022 approved plan, driven largely by removing the office component and the cinema, both of which were high-traffic generators.

A Question Worth Asking: What About the Existing Hotels?

The city’s enthusiasm for two new hotels is easy to understand when you look at the TOT numbers. But it raises a legitimate question that has not received much public attention: what does adding 240 rooms do to the hotels already operating in this corridor?

Laguna Hills currently has four hotels within city limits: The Hills Hotel, the Laguna Hills Lodge (121 rooms on Paseo de Valencia), a Comfort Inn, and a Courtyard. Just up El Toro Road, the Ayres Hotel Laguna Woods adds another 139 rooms. The total existing supply in this immediate market is roughly 500 to 600 rooms. Adding 240 rooms from the Village at Laguna Hills means the local supply increases by approximately 40 percent in one move.

That would be a significant addition in any market. In a market like this one, it is worth examining more carefully. The El Toro Road corridor is not a leisure destination. It does not draw tourists the way Laguna Beach or Newport Beach does. Demand here is driven primarily by business travelers visiting nearby office parks, medical center visitors and families of Saddleback Memorial patients, and sports tournament overflow from Irvine venues. That is a narrower and less elastic demand base than a coastal resort market.

The developer has pointed to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics as a demand driver for the hotels, targeting a 2028 opening for one property specifically. That may capture some business during the games, but the Olympic venues are concentrated in Los Angeles and Inglewood, not South Orange County, and that demand is temporary. The question is how the hotels perform in the years before and after the games on ordinary weeknights.

It is telling that when the original 2022 plan included just a single hotel with 100 to 150 rooms, residents submitted public comments opposing even that. A petition specifically asked the city to reject the hotel entirely, arguing the area did not have the demand to support it. The city approved it anyway, and then the revised plan doubled down with a second hotel. The motivation is clear: TOT is one of the few revenue streams a city can count on from a hospitality tenant, and Laguna Hills has been looking to replace the sales tax revenue it lost when the mall closed.

The cost of that decision is likely to fall on the operators who have been running hotels in this area for years. The Laguna Hills Lodge sold in a recent transaction at roughly $140,000 per room. Hotel asset values are directly tied to occupancy and revenue per available room. A meaningful drop in occupancy across the corridor would put downward pressure on those valuations and squeeze the margins of every existing operator in the market. Whether the two new Village hotels generate enough new demand or simply redistribute existing demand among more properties is the central question, and it is one the city’s fiscal analysis did not need to answer to justify its own revenue projections.

What Comes Next and When

As of mid-2026, the project is in the final stages of city review. City Council approval of the modified plan was anticipated in June or July of 2026. After approval, the project will need another 6 to 12 months for site development plans and building permits before construction of the first phases can begin.

That puts a realistic groundbreaking timeline somewhere in late 2026 to mid-2027 for the first construction phases. Given the scale of the project, it will be built out over many years. The developer has been clear that the full buildout could take more than a decade.

The affordable senior housing building is planned to be delivered as a complete, consolidated phase rather than phased in over time. One of the two hotels is targeting a 2028 opening ahead of the Olympics. For-sale townhomes and detached homes will likely follow in later phases as earlier rental phases and infrastructure are completed.

This is a long-term transformation, not a quick flip. The site that once anchored South County retail for 45 years is now being rebuilt as something completely different. The city is betting that a walkable, mixed-use neighborhood with housing, hospitality, green space, and neighborhood retail will serve Laguna Hills better for the next 50 years than any version of an enclosed mall ever could.

Thinking About Buying in Laguna Hills or South OC?

As the Village at Laguna Hills comes to market in phases, it will add new for-sale housing options to a city that has not seen significant new construction in years. If you want to be updated when for-sale units become available, or if you are looking at existing homes in the surrounding South OC communities right now, our team can help.

Search homes for sale in the area: Laguna Hills  |  Laguna Niguel  |  Mission Viejo

Call or text Eric at 949-430-7500  |  Schedule: cal.com/eric-engelbert
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July 16, 2026

50 For-Sale Condos Coming to West Anaheim: What to Know About 3036 W. Lincoln Avenue

By Eric Engelbert

A Long-Vacant Lot Gets a Second Chance

A 0.67-acre lot on West Lincoln Avenue in Anaheim has been sitting empty since 2002. A motel that once stood there was demolished that year, and for more than two decades the site has been vacant. That is about to change.

On April 6, 2026, the Anaheim Planning Commission approved Tentative Tract Map No. 19393, clearing the way for a new 50-unit for-sale condominium development at 3036 West Lincoln Avenue. The project includes five affordable units reserved for low-income buyers and uses California’s density bonus law to maximize the number of homes on the small site.

For-sale condos are relatively rare among new Orange County housing approvals, most of which are rentals. This project is worth watching for buyers looking for new construction in Anaheim at an accessible price point.

The Site: 24 Years of Waiting

The property at 3036 West Lincoln Avenue is one of many former motel sites along this part of Anaheim. The motel was torn down in 2002 and the parcel has been unused since. It sits in what the city designates as Mixed-Use High land, meaning it is zoned for dense residential development alongside ground-floor commercial uses.

The site is flat, cleared, and has no known environmental constraints. Existing public utilities already serve the surrounding area, so the infrastructure needed to support a new residential building is already in place. From a planning standpoint this is a clean infill project on a lot that has produced nothing for over two decades.

The city's approval was also straightforward from an environmental review perspective. Because the project implements the Beach Boulevard Specific Plan on a previously disturbed urban site, it qualified for a categorical exemption under CEQA, meaning no full environmental impact report was required for this specific project.

The Building: Four Stories, 50 Condos

The approved project is a four-story building with three residential floors above a ground-level parking garage. The building reaches approximately 51 feet 6 inches to the top of the parapet. Parking is tucked underneath the residential floors, which is a common approach for urban infill sites where lot coverage needs to be maximized.

The design was prepared by Michael Sun Architect. The building is configured as a one-lot condominium map, meaning all 50 units will be individually owned and sold rather than rented. Each unit will have its own recorded title.

Specific unit sizes and bedroom counts were not detailed in the publicly available planning documents, but the project narrative references three-bedroom units as part of the mix. The developer has not been publicly identified in the planning record.

Five Affordable Units and How They Work

Five of the 50 units (10%) will be set aside as affordable for-sale condos reserved for low-income households. This is not a rental program. These are ownership units that will be deed-restricted for a minimum of 55 years under a recorded Housing Incentives Agreement and CC&Rs that run with the property and bind all future owners.

In exchange for providing those five affordable units at 12% of the base unit count, the developer qualified for a density bonus under California state law. This allowed the project to go from the base zoning density of 60 dwelling units per acre up to 74.6 units per acre, a 23% increase. On a lot this small, that density bonus is what makes the project financially viable.

The density bonus also came with approved waivers of certain development standards, including reduced setbacks. The city found that applying standard setbacks would physically prevent the approved density from fitting on the 0.67-acre site.

The five affordable units are a real opportunity for income-qualified buyers who want to own rather than rent in Anaheim. Affordability levels and income limits will be confirmed when the Housing Incentives Agreement is recorded, which must happen before any building permits are issued.

Part of a Larger Plan for West Anaheim

This project is not happening in isolation. The 3036 West Lincoln site sits within the Beach Boulevard Specific Plan (SP 2017-1), a planning framework the City of Anaheim adopted in 2018 to guide the redevelopment of this corridor. The plan was designed to transform West Anaheim’s aging commercial strip into a more walkable, mixed-use neighborhood with new housing and updated retail.

The Beach Boulevard corridor has a history of older motels, auto-oriented commercial strips, and underused parcels. The specific plan created a framework to replace those uses with denser residential and mixed-use development. The 3036 West Lincoln project is a direct example of that plan working as intended, taking a long-vacant former motel lot and turning it into 50 ownership homes.

As more parcels along this corridor redevelop, the neighborhood character will gradually shift. Buyers who get in early on projects like this are buying into an area that is actively being reimagined by the city.

Location: West Anaheim near Beach Boulevard

West Lincoln Avenue is a major east-west street running through the 92801 zip code in West Anaheim. The 3036 address puts it in the area between Beach Boulevard and Magnolia Avenue, just north of the Anaheim/Stanton/Cypress boundary.

This part of Anaheim is distinct from the tourist corridor near Disneyland. It is a working-class neighborhood with a mix of older single-family homes, apartment complexes, and commercial uses along the main streets. Freeway access is convenient, with the 5 and 22 both reachable within a few minutes.

For buyers priced out of more expensive Anaheim zip codes or looking for new construction under a certain price point, West Anaheim offers a realistic path to ownership. The addition of new for-sale product like this project can help anchor values in the surrounding area as the corridor continues to improve.

You can search current Anaheim condos for sale on our site to see what is available in the area today.

Project Status: Approved, Not Yet on Market

The Planning Commission approval in April 2026 is a significant milestone, but it is not the finish line. Before construction can begin, the developer still needs to satisfy several conditions including recording the final tract map, executing a Subdivision Agreement with the City of Anaheim, recording the Housing Incentives Agreement for the affordable units, and paying applicable development impact fees.

The developer has not been publicly named in the planning documents, and the project has not yet been brought to market. No pricing, timeline, or sales information is publicly available at this time.

That said, the approval is recent and the entitlement work is done. If the developer moves forward on a normal construction timeline, this project could realistically open for sales within the next one to two years. Given that the affordable units will be for-sale at restricted prices with a 55-year covenant, qualified buyers should pay attention to when this project is announced.

If you want to be notified when this or similar new-construction projects come to market in Anaheim, reach out and we can put you on a watch list.

Looking for New Construction in Orange County?

New for-sale projects like this one move fast once they open. Whether you are looking for a market-rate unit or want to find out if you qualify for an affordable ownership opportunity, our team tracks new development across all of Orange County and can help you get positioned before units go on sale.

Call or text Eric at 949-430-7500  |  Schedule: cal.com/eric-engelbert
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July 16, 2026

Skyline OC: Inside Orange County's Tallest Luxury Condo Towers

By Eric Engelbert

A New Kind of Home for Orange County

Orange County is not known for high-rise living. Most people think of detached single-family homes, master-planned communities, and gated neighborhoods when they picture OC real estate. But one development is changing that picture in a dramatic way.

Skyline OC is a pair of 25-story luxury condo towers rising above South Santa Ana near South Coast Plaza. At 25 stories each, they are the tallest residential buildings in Orange County. Together they offer a style of urban luxury living that simply has not existed here before.

The first phase of units sold out. More are on the way. Here is everything you need to know about Skyline OC, including what it is, how it got here, what the homes look like, and what buyers can expect from future releases.

From Apartments to Condos: The Full Story

The towers at 9 and 15 MacArthur Place in Santa Ana have an interesting history. They were originally built in 2008 and were meant to be condominiums from the start. But the timing could not have been worse. The housing market collapsed during the Great Recession and the developer pivoted, turning them into rental apartments known as Essex Skyline OC and MacArthur Place. For more than 15 years, they operated as luxury rentals.

In April 2025, Crescent Heights, a Miami-based developer known for high-end urban residential projects, purchased the property from Essex Property Trust for approximately $240 million. Crescent Heights immediately moved forward with the original plan: converting the two towers into condominiums for sale.

In June 2026, Newmark arranged $210 million in financing secured by the remaining condo inventory, with investment vehicles advised by Centerbridge Partners participating. That level of institutional financing signals strong confidence in the project and the OC luxury market.

The development is now marketed as Skyline OC South Coast Residences, with sales and marketing handled by Polaris Pacific (CA DRE #01499250).

The Towers and the Residences

The two towers hold approximately 349 residences total. Units range from one- and two-bedroom homes to expansive penthouse configurations. The layouts are open and modern, with floor-to-ceiling windows that frame sweeping views. On higher floors you can see from the Pacific Ocean all the way to the mountains.

Interior finishes are what you would expect from a luxury high-rise: chef-inspired kitchens, high-end appliances, clean architectural details, and generous closet space. Layouts go up to roughly 2,800 square feet on the larger penthouse levels. Crescent Heights has also made it possible to combine adjacent units or take an entire floor for truly custom configurations.

These are not typical Orange County condos. The building type, the floor heights, the scale of the views, and the level of finish are all things that buyers usually have to go to Los Angeles or San Diego to find.

Pricing and HOA

Pricing at Skyline OC starts at around $600,000 for entry-level one-bedroom homes. Active listings have generally ranged from $850,000 to $1.3 million for larger one- and two-bedroom units. Penthouse configurations can reach $3 million or more depending on the floor, views, and layout.

HOA dues run approximately $1,100 to $1,500 per month, which covers the extensive amenity package and building services. The property has no Mello Roos, which is worth noting for buyers comparing total carrying costs. Given what is included in the HOA, the dues reflect a genuine value for buyers who will use the amenities regularly.

If you are comparing this to a detached home in Newport Beach or Laguna Beach in the same price range, it is a very different lifestyle trade-off. You are giving up a yard and a garage for full-service building living, resort amenities, and views that no ground-level home can match.

The Amenities Package

Skyline OC offers more than 60,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor amenities spread across the two towers and a shared 2.5-acre lake setting. The list covers nearly every lifestyle category:

  • Pool and spa with an 80-foot pool and resort-style towel service
  • Fitness center and yoga studio with dedicated group fitness space
  • Spa treatment rooms on site
  • 24-hour concierge service
  • Coworking and lounge areas for residents who work from home
  • On-site car wash and EV charging stations
  • Pickleball court and golf practice green
  • Outdoor BBQ and entertaining areas
  • 2.5-acre private lake setting with landscaped grounds

For a buyer who wants to downsize without giving up quality, or who wants lock-and-leave convenience without sacrificing lifestyle, this is a strong package. There is nothing else like it in Orange County.

Location: The South Coast Area of Santa Ana

Skyline OC sits in the southern tip of Santa Ana, just off the intersection of the 405 and 55 freeways. The address is 9 MacArthur Place, Santa Ana, CA 92707. Despite being in Santa Ana city limits, this location is really part of the broader South Coast corridor and is surrounded by major regional destinations.

Within walking distance or a very short drive you have:

  • South Coast Plaza, one of the top-grossing shopping centers in the country
  • Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Orange County's performing arts hub
  • A wide range of restaurants along Bristol Street and in Costa Mesa

John Wayne Airport (SNA) is about 3 miles away, making this location excellent for frequent travelers. The 405 and 55 freeway access puts most of Orange County within a reasonable commute.

One thing buyers should understand clearly: this is not a residential neighborhood in the traditional OC sense. The immediate surroundings include commercial and industrial properties. The appeal here is the towers themselves and their proximity to South Coast Plaza and the arts district, not a walkable suburban streetscape. That trade-off works well for some buyers and not others.

First Phase Sold Out: What Comes Next

Crescent Heights has been releasing homes at Skyline OC in phases. The first phase is sold out. Given that there are nearly 350 total units across two towers, a significant number of residences remain and will be released in future rounds.

The $210 million in financing secured in June 2026 is directly tied to this remaining inventory, which suggests the developer has a clear runway to continue releasing and selling through the project. Future phases are expected to include homes on higher floors, additional two-bedroom configurations, and penthouse opportunities.

If you missed the first phase and are interested in Skyline OC, the time to get on the interest list is now. When a new phase opens, the best units typically move quickly. For more information you can contact the Skyline OC sales team directly at 714-798-7759 or visit liveskylineoc.com.

If you want help understanding how Skyline OC fits into the broader Orange County market, or if you want to compare it to other luxury options in the area, that is something our team can help you with.

Thinking About Buying in Orange County?

Whether you are drawn to Skyline OC or looking at detached homes, townhomes, or other luxury options throughout Orange County, our team can help you navigate the market. We track new developments, compare neighborhoods, and build a strategy that fits your goals and budget.

Call or text Eric at 949-430-7500  |  Schedule: cal.com/eric-engelbert
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July 16, 2026

Anaheim Hills Festival: 447 Apartments Approved Where the Movie Theater Used to Be

By Eric Engelbert

The Regal Edwards Is Gone. 447 Apartments Are Coming to Anaheim Hills Festival.

The Regal Edwards Anaheim Hills movie theater at the Festival shopping center closed in 2022 and has sat empty on the west end of the center ever since. In March 2026, the Anaheim City Council voted 4-3 to let Aliso Viejo-based Shea Properties tear it down and build a 447-unit apartment complex in its place. The vote came after months of public hearings, a sharp fight over wildfire evacuation safety, and a union labor agreement that held up the final vote for weeks. The project is approved. The debate about what it means for this part of Anaheim is still very much alive. Browse current homes for sale in Anaheim Hills.

447New Apartments Approved
45Moderate-Income Units
4-3City Council Vote
17,453Units Anaheim Must Plan for

Where It Is and What Is Already There

The Anaheim Hills Festival Shopping Center sits at 8020 East Santa Ana Canyon Road at Weir Canyon Road, close to the 91 Freeway in the eastern part of Anaheim. The center is a community-oriented retail strip anchored by 24-Hour Fitness, Wood Ranch, Target, Hobby Lobby, and Tutor Time. None of those tenants are being displaced. The 447-unit project is going on the roughly 62,000-square-foot footprint at the western end of the center where the Regal Edwards theater operated until 2022, when it closed along with hundreds of other Regal locations during the company's financial restructuring.

The area around the Festival center is a well-established residential community. Anaheim Hills is a hillside neighborhood in the eastern end of the city, separated from central Anaheim by the hills and canyons of the Santa Ana Mountains foothills. It has a different character from downtown Anaheim or the resort district. Homes here tend to be larger, lots tend to be wider, and the sense of neighborhood identity is strong. The hills also sit in terrain the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention has designated a very high fire hazard severity zone, which became the center of this project's public fight.

What Is Being Built

The approved project is a four-story apartment building wrapping a 954-space parking structure. The building's amenity package includes swimming pools, a fitness center, club rooms, and a dog park. The developer is also committing to a bluff park that will be open to the public, not just residents, which is the kind of community-facing amenity that often helps win over neighborhoods that might otherwise oppose a project of this size.

The existing shopping center tenants remain in place. Shea Properties is only developing the former theater site. The 954-space garage is a significant parking commitment for a 447-unit project and reflects the reality that Anaheim Hills is a car-dependent area with no realistic transit alternative. The design wraps the residential building around the parking structure rather than placing the garage as a standalone structure, which is standard practice for this type of urban infill apartment product.

The project has its own website at thefutureoffestival.com where Shea Properties has been sharing updates on the development. No groundbreaking timeline has been publicly announced as of mid-2026.

The Wildfire Fight: What Residents Said and What the Vote Came Down To

The community opposition to this project was organized, persistent, and focused on a single issue: wildfire evacuation times. The hills east of Anaheim have burned multiple times. Residents who lived through the 2017 Canyon Fire described evacuation conditions at the City Council meeting, including commutes that stretched from 15 minutes to three hours as traffic backed up on the limited road network. The core concern was that adding 447 households to the area would make future evacuations slower and more dangerous.

An evacuation travel time analysis completed by the consulting firm Dudek concluded that in a worst-case wildfire scenario, the project would increase evacuation times by 14 minutes compared to current conditions without the operating cinema. That would push evacuation time for the Deer Canyon Park area above three hours in that scenario. City staff called the impact insignificant. The council majority agreed with staff. The mayor and two other council members did not.

Mayor Ashleigh Aitken, Councilwoman Kristen Maahs, and Councilwoman Natalie Meeks voted no. Aitken said the wildfire safety measures in the development agreement were "untested and aspirational." She was not opposed to the housing in principle but said she was not comfortable with the safety commitments being sufficient to protect residents in a real emergency.

The council majority argued that Anaheim Hills has received only about 9% of the new homes built in Anaheim between 2000 and 2025, while the central parts of the city absorbed about 76%. Councilwoman Natalie Rubalcava described the Festival project as an infill project in an established shopping center, meaningfully different from the Deer Canyon proposal the council rejected in 2024, which would have put an entirely new residential community into a canyon. Anaheim Fire Chief Pat Russell agreed those two projects were not comparable in terms of risk.

The wildfire concern is legitimate and not resolved by this approval. It is worth knowing if you are considering renting or buying nearby.

What Shea Properties Agreed to Pay for Safety

As part of the development agreement, Shea Properties agreed to the following public safety commitments:

$100,000 to Anaheim Fire and Rescue to fund wildfire mitigation efforts. $100,000 to the Anaheim Police Department to support wildfire evacuation training. Camera and Emergency Vehicle Preemption systems installed at four intersections on Santa Ana Canyon Road to improve emergency vehicle response times in the area.

The developer will also pay $2.4 million in park and recreation impact fees and $1.8 million in transportation impact fees as standard conditions of approval. The union labor piece took longer: Shea Properties reached an agreement with the Western States Regional Council of Carpenters at the end of February 2026, which cleared the final procedural hurdle before the vote.

Affordable Housing: What Is and Is Not in This Project

The project includes 45 apartments set aside for moderate-income households, which is 10% of the 447 total. Moderate-income in Orange County means households earning between 80 and 120 percent of the area median income. There are no low-income or very-low-income units in this project.

Notably, the developer is not required to pay the city's affordable housing in-lieu fee because the project application was filed before Anaheim adopted its affordable housing mandate in 2024. Projects that applied before the ordinance took effect are not subject to it. The 45 moderate-income units represent the affordable commitment that was negotiated as part of the entitlement process.

Who Is Behind the Project

Shea Properties Management Co. is an Aliso Viejo-based real estate development and management firm with a long track record in Southern California. The company is part of the Shea family of companies, which also includes Shea Homes, one of the larger for-sale homebuilders in California. Shea Properties focuses on commercial and multifamily development, and has been active in the Orange County retail-to-residential conversion trend.

The underlying property owner is OTR, which is part of the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, a large pension fund with significant real estate holdings across the country. Institutional pension fund ownership of suburban retail centers is common, and many of these properties have been exploring residential development as a way to generate returns from underperforming retail square footage.

Shea Properties hired former Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle and his lobbying firm to advocate for the project beginning in 2023, per city lobbyist disclosure records. Pringle's involvement is worth noting because he has represented numerous development projects before the Anaheim City Council over the years and has deep relationships in the city's political and development community.

Anaheim Hills Has Done Very Little Housing. The City Needs It to Change.

The context for why this project got approved despite real community opposition comes down to a simple geographic imbalance. Anaheim is required to plan for 17,453 new homes by 2029 under the state's 6th-cycle Regional Housing Needs Assessment. That is the largest allocation of any city in Orange County. The city has been working through its housing element to identify where those homes can go.

As of the council vote, about 76% of new homes built in Anaheim between 2000 and 2025 were concentrated in Districts 3, 4, and 5, the central and western parts of the city. District 6, which covers the Anaheim Hills area in the eastern end, accounted for only about 9% of new homes over that same 25-year period. The council majority's argument was that spreading housing more evenly across the city is both a planning obligation and a fairness issue. The hills have had the benefit of low density and high home values while the rest of the city has absorbed the bulk of new development and its associated pressures.

Whether you agree with that framing or not, it is the argument that carried the 4-3 vote, and it is likely to carry similar votes in the future as Anaheim works toward its state-mandated housing numbers. You can see how Anaheim compares to other OC cities on the OC New Developments page.

What This Means for Renters and Buyers in Anaheim Hills

For renters looking in Anaheim Hills: The Festival project will eventually add 447 apartments to a neighborhood that currently has very few rental options. If you work in eastern Anaheim, in the canyon, or in communities along the 91 Freeway corridor, this project places you in a hillside community with shopping and dining at your doorstep. Pricing has not been announced. Based on the area and the project's quality level, rents will likely come in at the higher end of the Anaheim market when the project opens. The 45 moderate-income units will be priced below market rate and will likely be in high demand when leasing begins. No groundbreaking date has been announced as of mid-2026. Browse current Anaheim listings.

For homeowners in Anaheim Hills: A 447-unit apartment project in your neighborhood is a legitimate concern on multiple fronts: traffic on Santa Ana Canyon Road, evacuation route capacity, and the character of the area all change with significant new density. The wildfire concerns raised during the approval process were not resolved, they were overruled. The infrastructure improvements Shea Properties committed to help, but 14 minutes added to a worst-case evacuation is a real number, not a hypothetical. If you own in the hills, it is worth factoring a longer-term construction period and the downstream infrastructure questions into how you think about your property.

For investors watching Anaheim Hills: This is the first significant multifamily approval in the hills in years. If the project delivers and leases well, it will demonstrate that rental demand in this part of Anaheim is real, which will make it easier to entitle similar projects on other underperforming retail sites in the area. The institutional ownership of the Festival center means decisions about the rest of the center will be driven by return calculations, not community sentiment. Watch the remaining retail pads.

A 4-3 Vote That Anaheim Hills Will Be Talking About for Years

The Anaheim Hills Festival project cleared its biggest hurdle in March 2026, but the concerns that generated a 4-3 vote and months of packed council meetings do not go away once the approval is issued. The wildfire risk in this part of Anaheim is real. The housing need is also real. Both things are true, and how the city manages both as this project moves toward construction will be worth watching. I will update this post when a groundbreaking timeline is announced or when leasing information becomes available. If you want to talk through what this development means for real estate you own or are considering buying in the Anaheim Hills area, reach out directly.

Questions about Anaheim Hills real estate? Call or text Eric at 949-430-7500 or visit ocrealestateinc.com/anaheim.
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July 14, 2026

The Mill Anaheim: 56 For-Sale Townhomes Opening Near the Packing District

By Eric Engelbert

56 For-Sale Townhomes Coming to a Former Saw Mill Site a Few Blocks From the Packing District

If you drive down East Santa Ana Street in downtown Anaheim today, you will see cleared land between South Claudina Street and South Olive Street, with underground utilities stubbed in but no concrete poured and no framing started yet. That site is The Mill, a 56-unit for-sale townhome community by Meritage Homes. The project is named for what stood on this land before: a dilapidated saw mill on a two-acre infill site in the heart of Anaheim's historic Colony district. The city approved the project in November 2024, and construction is underway in the early phases as of mid-2026. If you have been looking for a for-sale home close to the Anaheim Packing District and downtown's growing restaurant and arts scene without the price tag of a detached single-family home, this project is worth tracking. Browse current homes for sale in Anaheim.

56For-Sale Townhomes
2Car Garages Per Home
2027Estimated Opening (TBD)
17,453Units Anaheim Must Plan for

Where The Mill Is and Why the Location Works

The Mill sits on approximately two acres along East Santa Ana Street in the Anaheim Colony neighborhood, the historic core of the city that predates Disneyland by decades. The site spans the 275 and 375 East Santa Ana Street blocks, bound by South Claudina Street on the west, South Olive Street on the east, and an existing alley on the north. The surrounding blocks are a mix of older single-family homes, small apartment buildings, and the small commercial corridors that make up the walkable street grid of downtown Anaheim.

The proximity to the Anaheim Packing District is one of the most compelling parts of the location. The Packing District is centered at the corner of Anaheim Boulevard and Santa Ana Street, about three to four blocks west of The Mill site. That means residents at The Mill are a short walk from more than 30 food and retail vendors inside the Packing House, which opened in 2014 in a restored 1919 citrus-packing warehouse. Directly across Santa Ana Street from the Packing House is the MAKE Building, a former marmalade factory dating to 1917 that now houses additional artisan vendors. The Center Street Promenade, Anaheim's outdoor downtown shopping and dining corridor, is close by as well.

The area has seen significant apartment development in recent years, and there are multiple rental communities within a few blocks of The Mill. What the neighborhood has had very little of is for-sale attached housing. The Mill is filling a gap that the rental market does not.

Why It Is Called The Mill

The name is not marketing. The site on East Santa Ana Street was occupied for years by a saw mill that had fallen into disrepair. According to the project's community outreach materials filed with the City of Anaheim, the development replaces the former dilapidated saw mill with 56 new homes. The existing structures on the site were demolished to clear the way for construction.

Using the site's industrial history as the project name is a nod to the broader character of the Anaheim Colony neighborhood, which grew up as a working-class and agricultural hub in the late 1800s and early 1900s before Disneyland transformed the city's economy and identity. The Packing District's branding around its own industrial past, the citrus-packing warehouse and marmalade factory, reflects the same idea: old industrial buildings and sites in this part of Anaheim are being converted or replaced by something new while keeping a connection to what was there before.

The Homes: What Is Being Built

The Mill includes 56 three-story attached townhomes in two floor plan configurations. The 24 two-bedroom homes run approximately 1,200 square feet. The 32 three-bedroom homes run up to approximately 1,800 square feet. Every home comes with an attached two-car garage, and the HOA will require residents to keep garages available for vehicle parking rather than storage, which is enforced through the community's CC&Rs.

Vehicular access to the community comes through an existing alley that runs behind the property, accessible from South Olive Street, South Philadelphia Street, and Claudina Street. The community is not gated. Pedestrian walkways, common open space, a barbecue area with shade structure and seating, and open lawn areas are part of the shared amenity package. Each home also has a private balcony.

The architectural style is described as traditional, meaning it draws from classic residential design rather than the contemporary glass-and-steel look common in newer urban projects. Given the historic character of the surrounding Colony neighborhood, the traditional styling fits the block better than a more modern form would.

The project is built under Meritage Homes' standard energy package, which includes solar panels on every home, high-performance HVAC systems, and high-efficiency windows. The community is certified Energy Star, Air Quality Plus, and Water Sense, which are EPA-backed standards for energy use, indoor air quality, and water efficiency respectively.

The Affordable Housing Component

Ten percent of the 56 units, approximately five to six homes, are set aside for moderate-income buyers. Moderate-income in Orange County generally means households earning between 80 and 120 percent of the area median income. These units are deed-restricted, meaning the affordability requirement attaches to the unit and stays in place regardless of future resales, and they count toward Anaheim's state-mandated housing production obligations.

For a for-sale community in downtown Anaheim, a 10 percent moderate-income set-aside reflects a balance between the economics of infill development and the city's obligation to produce housing at multiple income levels. The moderate-income units will be priced below the market-rate units but will otherwise be the same product, the same floor plans in the same community.

Who Is Building It: Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes is one of the largest homebuilders in the United States, publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange and active across multiple states. In Southern California, Meritage builds a range of product from large planned communities to smaller infill projects like The Mill. The company's California operations are managed through MLC Holdings LLC, which is the entity on the Anaheim entitlement filings.

The Mill is a relatively compact project for Meritage, which typically builds at larger scale in master-planned communities. That makes it unusual and, for buyers, potentially more interesting. Smaller for-sale communities in walkable urban locations tend to hold value well over time because new supply in those locations is constrained. Building 56 townhomes on a two-acre former industrial site in downtown Anaheim requires the kind of infill expertise and entitlement patience that not every large builder is willing to put in, particularly on a site that had to be cleared of an old mill before construction could begin.

Meritage's energy-efficiency platform is a consistent feature across all its California communities and is one of the more tangible buyer benefits the company offers. Solar included in the purchase price rather than leased or added later is a meaningful feature, particularly for buyers calculating monthly costs in a high-electricity-cost market like Southern California.

Anaheim's Housing Mandate and What The Mill Contributes

California requires the City of Anaheim to plan for 17,453 new homes during the 6th RHNA cycle running from 2021 to 2029. That is the largest allocation of any city in Orange County, driven by Anaheim's size, its major employment base, and its transit infrastructure including ARTIC, Metrolink, and the planned OC Streetcar. The city has been working through its housing element to identify and zone sites capable of absorbing that volume, a mix of large apartment projects, mixed-use redevelopment, and infill projects like The Mill.

At 56 units, The Mill is a small piece of a very large obligation. But infill for-sale projects matter in ways that apartment-only production does not. They add ownership inventory to a city where most new residential construction is rental. They attract a buyer who would otherwise be competing for resale homes in Anaheim's existing single-family market. And they demonstrate that walkable urban infill development in downtown Anaheim can produce a product that sells, which makes future projects on similar sites easier to finance and entitle.

You can see how Anaheim compares to other Orange County cities on the OC New Developments page.

What This Means for Buyers in and Around Downtown Anaheim

For buyers looking at downtown Anaheim: The Mill is one of the very few for-sale new construction options in the Colony neighborhood and downtown Anaheim generally. The combination of two-car garages, solar, two- and three-bedroom floor plans, and walkable access to the Packing District is a package that simply has not been available in this part of Anaheim before. Pricing has not been publicly announced as of mid-2026, and with construction still in early stages the sales office is not yet open. Comparable new Meritage townhomes in other urban infill Southern California locations have priced in the $600,000 to $800,000 range depending on size and market conditions. An interest list is available now through Meritage Homes if you want to be notified when pricing and sales launch. Browse current Anaheim listings.

For buyers who work in the Anaheim resort or employment corridor: The Mill's location puts you within a short commute of the Anaheim Convention Center, the resort district, ARTIC, and Honda Center without needing to live in a rental apartment. The two-car garage matters in an area where street parking and apartment complex parking have historically been limited.

For existing owners and investors watching downtown Anaheim: A completed for-sale community at The Mill's location sends a signal to the market that ownership demand exists in the Colony neighborhood at price points above what the resale condo market has typically offered. If The Mill sells well, it supports the case for similar projects on the other infill sites that the city has been trying to move forward for years. The Packing District drew restaurant and retail investment to this corridor. A successful for-sale residential community two blocks away is the next piece of that puzzle.

The Right Project in the Right Place at the Right Time

The Mill is what downtown Anaheim has needed for a while: a for-sale home product, built by a major builder with a strong energy efficiency package, in walking distance of one of the best food and retail destinations in Orange County. The site has been cleared and utilities are in the ground. Framing is still ahead, and with no concrete poured as of mid-2026, the original Q3 2026 grand opening target has almost certainly slipped. A realistic opening window looks more like 2027. I will update this post as framing progresses, pricing is announced, and the sales office opens. If you want to talk through how The Mill fits into the downtown Anaheim market or what comparable buying options look like right now, reach out anytime.

Questions about The Mill or Anaheim real estate? Call or text Eric at 949-430-7500 or visit ocrealestateinc.com/anaheim.
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July 14, 2026

City Ventures Yorba Linda: 62 Townhomes Approved After a Long Fight

By Eric Engelbert

A $5 Million Land Buy. A Voter Rezoning. A 4-1 Council Vote. Now 62 Townhomes Are Coming.

Yorba Linda is not a city where apartment buildings go up easily. It is one of the more affluent, lower-density suburbs in Orange County, known for horse trails, hillside homes, and a political culture that has resisted state housing mandates longer than most. So when City Ventures paid $5 million for a 2.65-acre lot on Yorba Linda Boulevard in early 2025 and filed plans for 62 attached townhomes, it set off months of hearings, community meetings, an appeal, and a heated City Council debate that ended in a 4-1 vote to approve the project in March 2026. Here is the full story of how that happened and what it means. Browse current homes for sale in Yorba Linda.

62For-Sale Townhomes Approved
$5MLand Purchase Price (Feb 2025)
160+Conditions Attached at Approval
2,415Units Yorba Linda Must Plan for

The Site: A 2.65-Acre Flag Lot on Yorba Linda Boulevard

The property is at 19081 Yorba Linda Boulevard, on the south side of the boulevard, east of Ohio Street and west of Palm Avenue. The lot is described as flag-shaped, meaning it has a narrow entrance from the boulevard with a wider parcel behind it. The total area is approximately 2.65 acres, or just over 119,000 square feet.

The site had a single-family residence on it when City Ventures acquired the property. Adjacent to the east is a Chabad house, which plays a significant role in the conditions that came out of the approval process. To the north, across Yorba Linda Boulevard, is Jessamyn West Park, a public park with recreational fields and open space. The surrounding area is primarily single-family residential, the kind of established suburban neighborhood that tends to have the strongest opposition to new attached housing nearby.

The location is in the relatively flat portion of Yorba Linda near the western edge of the city. Yorba Linda Boulevard is one of the city's main east-west arterials, which makes this site a higher-traffic corridor than the deeper residential streets and hillside neighborhoods the city is best known for. That combination, flat land on a major road with a bus line, is exactly the type of site the state expects cities to zone for higher-density infill housing.

Who Is City Ventures

City Ventures is an Irvine-based homebuilder founded in 2009 by Craig Atkins and Mark Buckland. Atkins was previously the co-founder of O'Donnell/Atkins, described as California's largest land brokerage firm, averaging over $1 billion in annual land transactions. Buckland co-founded The Olsen Company, one of the early urban infill homebuilders in Southern California, and also worked as a development manager at Bixby Ranch.

City Ventures focuses specifically on infill residential projects in supply-constrained California markets. Their product is typically for-sale attached homes, townhomes, condos, and similar entry-level and move-up products built on smaller lots in established urban and suburban areas rather than greenfield land on the urban fringe. The company emphasizes solar-powered and energy-efficient construction.

This Yorba Linda project fits City Ventures' core model: find underused infill land on an arterial in a strong market, rezone it if needed, navigate community opposition, and build for-sale homes that sell at prices the local market will support. In Yorba Linda, where the median home price sits well above $1 million, the economics of a 62-unit for-sale townhome project on a site acquired for $5 million can work out to a reasonable land cost per door, roughly $80,600 per unit before entitlement, construction, and carry costs.

Measure JJ: How Yorba Linda Voters Enabled This Project

Before City Ventures could build anything, the site had to be rezoned. The property was zoned R-E (Residential Estate), which is a low-density, large-lot designation that does not allow attached townhomes. A standard rezoning through a city council vote would have faced significant political resistance. Instead, Yorba Linda took an unusual approach: it put the rezoning on the November 2024 ballot as Measure JJ.

Measure JJ, formally called the Yorba Linda Local Control, Residential Neighborhood, and Open Space Protection Measure, was placed on the ballot by the City Council to achieve state certification of Yorba Linda's revised 2021-2029 Housing Element. The measure rezoned a set of sites across the city to allow more housing, including 19081 Yorba Linda Boulevard from R-E to R-M-20, which allows residential development at up to 20 units per acre.

Voters approved Measure JJ by more than 90 percent in November 2024. The city framed it as a way for residents, rather than Sacramento, to control how Yorba Linda meets its state-mandated housing obligations. By passing it as a ballot measure with overwhelming voter support, the city also gave the rezoning a stronger legal foundation against future legal challenges. The Orange County Registrar certified the results in December 2024, and the city's housing element moved toward full state certification shortly after.

The 90-plus percent margin is striking but makes more sense in context. Measure JJ was also framed as protecting open space and local control, and many residents who disliked the idea of new housing preferred the city controlling which sites got rezoned rather than having developers file Builder's Remedy applications under state law to bypass local zoning entirely. Voting yes on JJ was, for many residents, a way of fencing in the damage rather than expressing enthusiasm for new density.

The Land Deal: $5 Million for 2.65 Acres

Public property records show City Ventures closed on the 19081 Yorba Linda Boulevard site via Grant Deed on February 18, 2025, for $5,000,000. The seller received full market value for what had been a single-family lot that, under the new R-M-20 zoning, was suddenly worth significantly more than its previous designation would have supported.

At $5 million for 2.65 acres, the land cost works out to approximately $1.89 million per acre. For comparison, residential infill land in similar locations in suburban Orange County typically trades in the $1 million to $2.5 million per acre range depending on entitlement status and proximity to commercial activity. This falls in the reasonable middle of that range for land that had already been rezoned for higher density through Measure JJ.

On a per-unit basis, the $5 million land cost spread across 62 approved townhomes comes to approximately $80,600 per door in raw land cost before any construction, entitlement, financing, or carrying costs. For a for-sale project in a market where finished townhomes will likely sell in the $700,000 to $900,000 range or higher, that land cost is workable but not inexpensive. City Ventures needed every unit it could get, which is one reason the three affordable set-aside units and the State Density Bonus Law provisions matter: they allowed the project to push past the base zoning unit count.

The Community Fight: 160+ Conditions, a 12-Foot Wall, and a 4-1 Vote

The Planning Commission approved the project on December 10, 2025. Within weeks, neighbors appealed the decision to the City Council. The central concerns were privacy, parking overflow, and traffic impacts on Yorba Linda Boulevard.

The most specific privacy conflict involved the Chabad house directly adjacent to the project site. Residents and the Chabad raised concerns about second- and third-story windows in the new townhomes looking directly into Chabad activities and the adjacent property. The approval process resulted in two design conditions specifically addressing this: a wall raised to 12 feet on the developer's side of the property line (approximately 8 feet visible from the Chabad side due to an existing grade change), and clerestory windows or similar treatments on units adjacent to the Chabad to block direct sightlines into the neighboring property.

Parking was the other major flashpoint. The existing neighborhood has limited on-street parking, and residents argued that 62 townhomes would push overflow vehicles onto nearby residential streets. City Ventures responded by adding two guest parking spaces to the site plan and agreeing to an enforceable parking management plan written into the project's CC&Rs with HOA enforcement requirements. The approval also included a condition requiring a parking impact evaluation at 18 months after the project opens.

On traffic, the City Council required a $75,000 surety bond to cover potential costs of reconfiguring the Yorba Linda Boulevard median near the project's driveway entrance, up from a $50,000 bond the applicant had originally proposed. City staff noted the city faces limits under state housing law on its ability to deny projects that meet the zoning code requirements, even when neighbor opposition is strong. The city's community development director told the council the applicant had accepted more than 160 conditions in total.

The final Council vote was 4-1 in favor of upholding the Planning Commission's approval, with Councilman Singh casting the lone no vote. The project moved forward with the full condition list in place.

State Law's Role: Why the City Could Not Simply Say No

One of the less-discussed aspects of this approval is how much state law shaped the outcome. City Ventures structured the project to take advantage of the State Density Bonus Law by designating three of the 62 units as very-low income deed-restricted affordable housing. That threshold, just three units at the very-low income level, qualifies the project for state density bonus incentives including additional units beyond what the base zoning would allow, reduced parking requirements, and development standard waivers.

The R-M-20 zoning, at 20 units per acre on a 2.65-acre site, produces a base of roughly 53 units. With density bonus applied, City Ventures reached 62 units, an increase of about 17 percent. The waivers also gave the project more flexibility on setbacks and building height than a standard R-M-20 project would typically receive.

Beyond the density bonus, once a project meets zoning requirements and includes affordable housing units above certain thresholds, California law limits what a city can use as grounds for denial. The city's community development director made this point directly at the hearing: the city cannot legally reject a project simply because neighbors object if the project otherwise complies with the applicable standards. The 160-plus conditions were the city's available tool for shaping the project rather than blocking it.

Yorba Linda's Housing Mandate and Why This Project Is Unusual

California requires Yorba Linda to plan for 2,415 new homes during the current 6th RHNA cycle running through 2029. For a small, predominantly single-family city with a long tradition of resisting density, that number has been a significant challenge. Most of what Yorba Linda has approved toward its housing element has been small single-family or townhome projects rather than the large apartment complexes that dominate new production in cities like Anaheim, Santa Ana, and Irvine.

The City Ventures project is significant within Yorba Linda's context precisely because it is not an apartment complex. It is 62 for-sale townhomes in the $700,000 to $900,000+ price range, aimed at first-time buyers and move-up buyers who want to own in Yorba Linda but cannot afford or do not want the larger single-family homes the city is mostly built on. That is a buyer who currently has very few options in the city and who will drive through Yorba Linda neighborhoods every day looking for product to buy.

You can see how Yorba Linda compares to other Orange County cities on the OC New Developments page.

What This Means for Buyers and Homeowners in Yorba Linda

For buyers looking at Yorba Linda: The City Ventures project will eventually bring 62 for-sale townhomes to a city that currently has almost no attached housing inventory. If you have been priced out of the detached single-family market in Yorba Linda but want to own rather than rent, this project is worth following. Pricing has not been announced but comparable new for-sale attached homes in East Orange County have been pricing from the mid-$700,000s to well over $900,000 depending on size and finish. The 1,300 to 1,600 square foot units should land somewhere in that range. Browse current Yorba Linda listings.

For existing homeowners near the site: The 160-plus conditions, the 12-foot wall, and the parking management requirements reflect the city's effort to limit impact on adjacent properties. The construction period will bring noise and activity to Yorba Linda Boulevard near Ohio Street. Once the project is built and occupied, the long-term effect on nearby single-family values will depend on how the project is managed and maintained. Well-run, owner-occupied townhome communities in similar suburban settings have historically had a neutral to slightly positive effect on surrounding values over time.

For investors watching Yorba Linda: This project demonstrates that infill townhome development is now legally viable in Yorba Linda in a way it was not before Measure JJ. If City Ventures succeeds here, other infill sites rezoned under JJ become more attractive to similar developers. The land costs in Yorba Linda relative to finished home prices are tighter than in denser parts of Orange County, but the market depth for for-sale product at the $750,000 to $900,000 price point is real.

Yorba Linda Is Changing, Slowly and On Its Own Terms

The City Ventures approval is not a sign that Yorba Linda is becoming a high-density city. It is a sign that even a city that strongly prefers low-density single-family development will eventually find a path forward when state law, voter-approved rezoning, and a determined developer all point in the same direction. Sixty-two townhomes next to Jessamyn West Park is not a transformation of the city. But it is the first meaningful attached housing project in a long time, and how it sells will tell developers and the market a great deal about what is next. I will update this post as construction timelines and pricing become available. If you have questions about buying or selling in Yorba Linda, reach out anytime.

Questions about Yorba Linda real estate? Call or text Eric at 949-430-7500 or visit ocrealestateinc.com/yorba-linda.
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July 14, 2026

Bella Terra Residential: 300 New Apartments at Huntington Beach's Best-Known Mall

By Eric Engelbert

Burlington Is Gone. 300 Apartments Are Coming.

The Burlington Coat Factory at Bella Terra in Huntington Beach closed permanently in early 2025. The 149,000-square-foot store that anchored the northwest corner of the Edinger Avenue and Beach Boulevard shopping center for decades is done. What is replacing it is the most significant new apartment project at an established Huntington Beach location in years. PGIM Real Estate, which is now the sole owner of Bella Terra, has a City Council-approved plan to build a 7-story, 300-unit mixed-use building on that site. The approvals are in hand, the tenant is out, and the project is in the permitting pipeline. Here is the full picture. Browse current homes for sale in Huntington Beach.

300New Apartments Planned
45Deed-Restricted Affordable Units
7Stories Tall
13,368Units HB Must Plan for by 2029

What Bella Terra Is and Why This Location Matters

Bella Terra is one of Huntington Beach's most-visited retail destinations. The open-air center at Edinger Avenue and Beach Boulevard is anchored by Whole Foods, Costco, Kohl's, Cinemark Theaters, Barnes and Noble, and The Cheesecake Factory, with more than 60 other tenants filling the rest of the 880,000-square-foot property. The center already has two residential buildings: The Residences at Bella Terra (managed by UDR) and The Artisan Residences at Bella Terra. The new 300-unit project would be a third residential building on the same campus, built where the Burlington Coat Factory once stood.

The site has a long history. It opened as Huntington Center in the mid-1960s, with an original anchor lineup that included JC Penney, Montgomery Ward, and Broadway department stores. It was enclosed into a traditional indoor mall in the 1970s, then converted to an open-air format in the 1990s and rebranded as Bella Terra. DJM Capital acquired the property nearly 20 years ago and spent years repositioning it with a more experiential retail and dining mix, adding a stage, lawn, and beer garden to the central courtyard. The plan to add housing is the next chapter in that evolution.

The location is strong by any measure. Edinger Avenue and Beach Boulevard is one of the highest-traffic intersections in all of Orange County. The mall is close to the 405 freeway, has strong transit connections, and sits in the middle of a dense residential and commercial area. Adding housing here is the kind of infill that planners and developers have been pointing to for years as the right move for underused retail land near major employers and transit corridors.

The Project: What Is Being Built and How

The project, designed by TCA Architects, calls for a 7-story mixed-use building with 300 apartments on the upper floors and 25,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space at the ground level. The ground floor also incorporates a porte-cochere drop-off within the new residential parking garage footprint, and the design includes enhanced pedestrian pathways to activate the edges of the new building and connect them to the existing mall.

The new residential parking garage will have 404 spaces across three levels, with a direct ground-floor connection to the existing retail parking structure via an internal three-lane street. That shared connection allows residential guests and retail visitors to use both garages, which is a practical solution for a dense infill site within an active shopping center.

The design also integrates with the mall's existing central courtyard. The community social space for the new residential building will extend directly off the mall's renovated amphitheater and existing plaza, creating a connection between the apartment amenities and the public spaces of the shopping center.

The total building size is approximately 352,461 square feet of residential space plus 25,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. At 300 units on the site, the project comes in at roughly 41 units per acre, which is high-density by most Huntington Beach standards but well below the maximums allowed in cities like Anaheim and Santa Ana.

The Affordable Housing Component

The project sets aside 45 units, or 15 percent of the total, as deed-restricted affordable housing. These are income-restricted apartments that qualify toward Huntington Beach's state-mandated obligation to produce housing at below-market rates. Deed-restricted means the affordability requirement is attached to the unit and stays in place regardless of ownership changes.

For a private market-rate project at a retail center owned by a major institutional investor, a 15 percent affordable set-aside is a meaningful commitment. It reflects both the project's desire to satisfy state housing mandate requirements and the city's interest in seeing some affordability built into large new developments. The number of units in each income category has not been publicly detailed, but income-restricted apartments in projects like this are typically targeted at households earning 50 to 80 percent of area median income.

The 45 affordable units are part of why this project matters to Huntington Beach's housing picture. They count directly toward the city's state-mandated housing production numbers and represent a type of affordable housing that gets built inside an active retail environment rather than in a standalone affordable-only complex.

Burlington Closed. What the Timeline Looks Like Now.

The original project timeline called for a groundbreaking in late 2023 and a completion around early 2026, roughly 30 months of construction. That timeline did not hold. Burlington Coat Factory closed permanently at Bella Terra in early 2025, clearing the site, but as of mid-2026 the project is still working through plan check and permitting rather than breaking ground.

Burlington's closure is meaningful because it removes one of the biggest practical obstacles to starting construction. The demolition of a 149,000-square-foot occupied building is a complex undertaking, and closing a national tenant early is not a small step. The fact that Burlington is out suggests the ownership side of this project is moving forward intentionally, even if the permitting timeline has stretched.

The adjacent Building E, a 33,331-square-foot inline retail building that is also being demolished to make way for the new construction, may still need to be vacated and cleared. Once both structures are down, the construction phase on the 7-story building can begin. Based on the original 30-month construction estimate, a realistic opening window for completed apartments would be sometime in 2027 or 2028 depending on when permits are finalized and the crane goes up.

A New Sole Owner: What the DJM Exit Means

DJM Capital Partners co-developed Bella Terra alongside PGIM Real Estate for nearly two decades. In early 2025, DJM sold its 25 percent stake to PGIM, making PGIM the sole owner of the property. The sale was reported as part of a normal portfolio exit on DJM's part after a long hold period.

For the residential project, the ownership change is worth noting but not necessarily alarming. PGIM Real Estate is one of the largest real estate investment managers in the world, with a long track record of owning and operating large mixed-use retail centers and residential assets. PGIM taking full ownership does not mean the residential project is at risk; it means a single institutional owner now controls all decisions about the site without needing partner alignment.

The practical effect could go either direction. A sole owner can move faster on decisions without requiring partner sign-off. Alternatively, a new sole owner might take time to review the project before pushing forward. The fact that Burlington's closure happened on PGIM's watch suggests the project remains active under the new ownership structure.

Huntington Beach's Housing Mandate and Why This Project Matters

Huntington Beach is required by the state to plan for 13,368 new homes during the 6th RHNA cycle running from 2021 to 2029. The city spent years fighting that obligation in court, refusing to adopt a compliant housing element and passing local ordinances intended to block state housing laws. In December 2025, a San Diego Superior Court issued an order requiring the city to bring its housing element into compliance with state law and amend its zoning accordingly. In February 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the city's challenge, leaving the court order in place.

The court order includes expedited requirements for Builder's Remedy projects, the state law that allows developers to bypass local zoning in cities that lack a certified housing element. The order requires Huntington Beach to approve Builder's Remedy applications within 60 days for projects with 150 units or fewer and within 90 days for projects with more than 150 units. Failure to meet those deadlines results in automatic approval.

The Bella Terra Residential project was approved by the City Council under normal zoning, not under Builder's Remedy. It does not need the court order to proceed. But the broader housing pressure context matters: Huntington Beach is under legal obligation to approve housing projects at a pace it has historically resisted, and private projects like Bella Terra Residential are part of how the city gets to its required numbers. You can see how Huntington Beach compares to other OC cities on the OC New Developments page.

What This Means for Renters, Buyers, and Investors

For renters looking in Huntington Beach: Bella Terra Residential will eventually add 300 apartments to a location that already has grocery access, dining, theaters, and retail on the same campus. It is likely to come in at market-rate pricing consistent with the high end of the Huntington Beach rental market, with a portion of units at income-restricted rents. The project is not open yet, but it is worth watching as it moves through permitting. Browse Huntington Beach real estate listings.

For buyers near the area: The neighborhoods adjacent to Bella Terra are a mix of older single-family homes and condominium communities. A new high-quality mixed-use building at the mall's edge is more likely to stabilize and support surrounding values than to hurt them, particularly once the construction disruption passes. Buyers looking at properties near Edinger and Beach should factor in a multi-year construction period at that intersection when evaluating timing.

For investors watching the retail-to-residential trend: Bella Terra is the most prominent example of this conversion in Huntington Beach, but it is happening at Bella Terra, MainPlace in Santa Ana, and Westminster Mall as well. The pattern is consistent: large institutional owners of underperforming retail square footage are trading it for apartments above ground-floor retail that keeps foot traffic alive. Properties near these conversion sites tend to attract more attention from developers as the first project demonstrates what is possible.

The Biggest New Housing Story at an HB Mall

Bella Terra Residential is not the flashiest project in Orange County, but it is the most practical: a big-box store that made sense in 1990 is making way for 300 homes in 2026 at one of the most well-served retail locations in Huntington Beach. Burlington is gone. The permits are in process. The question is when the crane shows up. I will update this post when construction breaks ground or when a leasing timeline is announced. If you want to talk through what this means for real estate you own or are looking at near this area, reach out anytime.

Questions about Huntington Beach real estate? Call or text Eric at 949-430-7500 or visit ocrealestateinc.com/huntington-beach.
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July 13, 2026

Katella Avenue Corridor: Orange's Gateway Into the OC Vibe Era

By Eric Engelbert

Orange's West End Is About to Get a Very Busy Neighbor

Most of the City of Orange's housing attention is focused on the eastern foothills, where Orange Heights is working through its environmental review. But the western edge of the city, along Katella Avenue, is where the most immediate outside pressure for change is coming from. The $4 billion OC Vibe development in Anaheim is rising just across the Santa Ana River. A pedestrian bridge to connect the two cities is in planning and funded. The first phase of a $100 million River Walk is under construction. And the City of Orange has specifically designated West Katella as one of its three housing focus corridors, zoned for up to 60 units per acre. Here is what is happening and what it means. Browse current homes for sale in Orange.

60Units Per Acre Allowed
$4BOC Vibe Development Next Door
$100MOC River Walk Under Construction
1,500Housing Units in Broader Vision

The Katella Corridor: What It Covers and Why It Matters

The Katella Avenue Corridor, as defined in the City of Orange's housing plan, covers properties north and south of Katella Avenue between the Santa Ana River on the west and Batavia Street on the east, including portions of Struck Avenue. The western end, closest to the river, is the primary focus for housing development.

The corridor includes a mix of uses that tells you something about the opportunity. You have the Stadium Promenade shopping center at 1701 W. Katella Ave, a mid-sized retail strip anchored by a mix of restaurants and shops that has been in place for decades. You have light industrial and aerospace manufacturing sites. You have car dealerships and service businesses. And you have surface parking lots. These are exactly the kinds of low-intensity commercial uses that, when they sit next to major employment centers and entertainment venues, become candidates for redevelopment into housing.

The City of Orange has given the western portion of this corridor an Urban Mixed-Use designation with a maximum of 60 units per acre and a floor area ratio of 3.0. That is the same density allowed in Uptown Orange and is among the highest anywhere in the city. The designation sends a clear signal to the development market that housing is welcome here.

OC Vibe: The $4 Billion Neighbor Across the River

To understand why the Katella Corridor matters right now, you have to understand OC Vibe. The OC Vibe project in Anaheim is a $4 billion master-planned development being built around the Honda Center, ARTIC transportation hub, and the surrounding blocks north of Katella Avenue and Angel Stadium. It includes entertainment venues, restaurants, offices, apartments, hotels, parks, and public plazas. The first phase is expected to open in late 2026 or early 2027, with the full project completing around 2032.

OC Vibe and the West Katella corridor in Orange are separated by the Santa Ana River, which at this point is a wide paved flood control channel with a bike and walking trail. The cities of Anaheim and Orange are working together on the OC River Walk, a $100 million project to transform that channel into a usable riverfront corridor with trails, parks, art, and gathering spaces. Construction is already underway. The first phase is expected to open alongside OC Vibe in late 2026.

Critically, a 350-foot pedestrian and cycling bridge is planned to cross the river and connect West Katella Avenue in Orange directly to the OC Vibe and ARTIC campus in Anaheim. Federal funding has been committed toward this project. When that bridge is built, residents and visitors on the Orange side of the river will be able to walk to the Honda Center, ARTIC, and the OC Vibe entertainment district without a car. That kind of connection changes the value proposition for property on the Orange side significantly.

Angel Stadium, Honda Center, and ARTIC

Even without OC Vibe, the Katella Corridor already sits next to three of the most significant destinations in Orange County.

Angel Stadium at 2000 E. Gene Autry Way is the home of the LA Angels and one of the oldest active Major League Baseball parks in the country. It draws large crowds during the baseball season and sits directly at the eastern edge of the Katella Corridor zone.

Honda Center is the home of the Anaheim Ducks and hosts major concerts, events, and touring shows throughout the year. It is on the Anaheim side of the river, but close enough that the West Katella stretch in Orange has historically benefited from event-day traffic and spending.

ARTIC (Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center) is a transit hub that connects Metrolink commuter rail, Amtrak, OC Bus, and the future OC Streetcar. It sits directly at the edge of OC Vibe on the Anaheim side. When residents in a future West Katella housing development walk across the planned river bridge, ARTIC is one of the first things they reach, giving them access to commuter rail to Los Angeles and direct connections to other parts of Orange County.

The combination of these three venues, plus OC Vibe, makes this corridor one of the most activity-rich locations in all of Orange County for housing development. The challenge is that it is still primarily low-intensity commercial. Turning that around takes time, willing sellers, and a development market ready to move.

Stadium Promenade: The Site the City Is Watching Most

The property the City of Orange identifies most specifically as a redevelopment candidate in the Katella Corridor is the Stadium Promenade shopping center at 1701 W. Katella Avenue. It is a regional retail strip that has been in operation for years, anchored by a variety of restaurants and shops. As of mid-2026, Stadium Promenade is still open and operating.

The city's housing plan describes the site as having the potential to add mixed housing and retail uses that would take advantage of its location at the gateway to the entertainment district. The existing retail format, while functional, is not using the land at anywhere near the density that the Urban Mixed-Use designation allows. A developer who acquired and redeveloped this site could theoretically build several hundred apartments above ground-floor retail on the same footprint.

No developer has publicly announced a proposal for Stadium Promenade as of mid-2026. This is not unusual. Sites like this often sit in planning discussions and market studies for years before a transaction closes and a permit is filed. The city identifying it by name in its housing plan puts it on the radar, but converting a functioning retail center into a housing project is a multi-year process at minimum.

The Broader Vision: Reimagine West Katella

The City of Orange has an active planning effort for the corridor called Reimagine West Katella. The broader vision for this stretch includes not just housing but a complete rethinking of the corridor as an urban district rather than a commercial strip. The full vision, according to city documents and the planning effort, calls for approximately 1,500 housing units, two hotels, multiple entertainment and restaurant venues, offices, public parks and trails, and the pedestrian connection to OC Vibe across the river.

This is a long-range plan, not a near-term construction announcement. The individual sites along West Katella are owned by different parties and will develop on different timelines as market conditions, site control, and financing align. But the city is clearly signaling what it wants to see in this corridor, and the presence of OC Vibe directly across the river is making that vision considerably more realistic than it was five years ago.

The planned pedestrian bridge also matters from a city planning perspective. A bridge connection to ARTIC means future West Katella residents would have access to Metrolink rail without owning a car. That opens the corridor to a demographic of renters who prioritize transit access, which is exactly the kind of resident a developer building near a train station targets. Once the bridge is funded and scheduled, the urgency for development on the Orange side of the river increases.

The Katella Corridor and Orange's Housing Mandate

California requires the City of Orange to plan for 3,936 new homes by 2029. The Katella Avenue Corridor is one of the three designated housing zones in Orange's certified housing element, alongside Uptown Orange and the South Main Street Corridor. Of the three, the Katella Corridor currently has the least new construction activity, but it has a geographic advantage that the other two do not: it sits directly adjacent to the biggest outside development catalyst in North Orange County.

As OC Vibe opens and the River Walk becomes a functioning amenity, the case for housing on the Orange side of the river becomes easier to make to developers and lenders. The Katella Corridor's contribution to Orange's RHNA total is largely still in front of it, but the conditions that would accelerate it are getting closer.

You can see how the City of Orange compares to other Orange County cities on the OC New Developments page.

What This Means for Buyers and Investors

For buyers looking at homes near the corridor: The single-family neighborhoods in this part of Orange sit east of the commercial strip along Katella. The long-term effect of a more active, walkable, mixed-use West Katella would likely be positive for home values in the surrounding neighborhoods, as it has been in comparable situations near large entertainment and mixed-use districts elsewhere in the country. The construction period for any large projects would bring temporary disruption to nearby streets. Browse homes for sale in the City of Orange.

For commercial property owners in the corridor: If you own retail, light industrial, or surface parking in the West Katella zone, your property is in an area where the city has said it wants housing and where a major outside catalyst is coming online. That combination tends to attract buyer inquiries from apartment developers. Understanding what your site could support at 60 units per acre and a 3.0 FAR is worth doing if you have not already.

For investors watching this market: The Katella Corridor is a longer-term play than Uptown Orange, where a project is already built and occupied. But the factors that make it interesting, the OC Vibe connection, the pedestrian bridge, the River Walk, and the city's explicit zoning for high-density housing, are more compelling now than they have been at any point before. Sites in this zone are worth tracking as OC Vibe approaches its opening.

A Corridor to Watch

The Katella Avenue Corridor is the City of Orange's bet that OC Vibe will make this stretch of West Katella into something significantly more valuable than a commercial strip with surface parking. The zoning is in place, the vision exists, the pedestrian bridge is funded, and the River Walk is under construction. The missing piece is a developer closing on a site and filing permits. I will update this post as projects are announced in the corridor. If you want to talk through what any of this means for property you own or are looking to buy near this area, reach out anytime.

Questions about the Katella Corridor or City of Orange real estate? Call or text Eric at 949-430-7500 or visit ocrealestateinc.com/orange.
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July 13, 2026

Uptown Orange: The City of Orange's Most Active Housing Zone

By Eric Engelbert

The Part of Orange That Is Actually Changing

When people talk about new housing in the City of Orange, Orange Heights gets most of the attention. But the part of the city where the most is already happening is quieter and sits on the other side of the freeway. Uptown Orange, a roughly defined area west of the 57 freeway near The Outlets of Orange and UCI Medical Center, is the city's designated high-density housing zone. One major luxury apartment building is already open and occupied. A pedestrian bridge connecting Orange to the $4 billion OC Vibe development in Anaheim is part of the long-range plan. And the city has actively zoned this area to allow more housing than almost anywhere else within the city limits. Here is the full picture. Browse current homes for sale in Orange.

334Luxury Apartments Already Open
60Units Per Acre Allowed
$4BOC Vibe Next Door in Anaheim
3,936Units Orange Must Build by 2029

Where Uptown Orange Is and Why It Is Zoned This Way

Uptown Orange is not a neighborhood with a sign at the entrance. It is more of a planning zone, centered on the area west of the SR-57 freeway, roughly bounded by the Santa Ana River on the west, Katella Avenue on the south, and Chapman Avenue on the north. The heart of it sits around S. Manchester Avenue and The City Drive South, near the DoubleTree Hotel and directly adjacent to UCI Medical Center.

The City of Orange designated this area as an Urban Mixed-Use zone in its housing element, with a maximum density of 60 units per acre and a maximum floor area ratio of 3.0. That is as dense as the city allows anywhere, and it is significantly higher than the 30 units per acre typical of the medium-density zones in most other OC cities.

The zoning makes sense given what is already here. UCI Medical Center is one of Orange County's largest employers. The Outlets of Orange draws shoppers from across the region. ARTIC, the regional transportation hub in Anaheim, is walking distance across the Santa Ana River. The freeway access is excellent: the 5, 22, and 57 all converge nearby. And OC Vibe, a $4 billion entertainment and mixed-use project centered on the Honda Center in Anaheim, is being built just across the river. The city's view is that Uptown Orange is a natural location for a dense, walkable neighborhood that takes advantage of all of those assets.

AMLI Uptown Orange: What Is Already Built and Open

The anchor project in the Uptown zone is AMLI Uptown Orange at 385 S. Manchester Avenue. Built in 2016, it is a four-story, 334-unit luxury apartment community directly south of the DoubleTree Hotel, steps from UCI Medical Center and The Outlets of Orange.

AMLI Uptown is certified at LEED Platinum, which puts it at the highest level of green building certification. The apartment community has studios, one-, two-, and three-bedroom floor plans. Rents currently run from approximately $2,675 to $5,399 per month depending on size and floor, which is consistent with the upper tier of Orange County apartment pricing.

The amenity package includes a saltwater pool with private cabanas, an outdoor yoga deck, a 24-hour fitness center, a clubroom with kitchen and coffee bar, a conference room, a pet spa, a bike repair room, secure storage, and Luxer One package lockers. Unit interiors feature quartz countertops, European-style cabinets, stainless appliances, counter-depth refrigerators, and wood-style flooring. Select units have private patios or balconies, and some include kitchen islands or built-in barbecues on the patio.

AMLI Uptown Orange is significant because it established that a major luxury apartment building can work in this part of Orange. A decade of stable occupancy has demonstrated the demand. The question now is what comes next in the zone.

The UCI Medical Center Effect

UCI Medical Center in Orange is one of the largest academic medical centers in Southern California. It serves as the region's only Level I Trauma Center, handles complex care cases referred from across the county, and employs thousands of doctors, nurses, researchers, and staff. It is also the teaching hospital for the UCI School of Medicine.

UCI Health has been expanding aggressively. In December 2025, UCI Health opened a new $1.3 billion, 144-bed acute care hospital in Irvine, which the system describes as the nation's first all-electric powered acute care hospital. A 52-bed rehabilitation hospital at 2200 Morse Avenue in Irvine is expected to open in 2026. These additions are growing the UCI Health system across Orange County, which increases the overall workforce and the demand for housing near the main Orange campus.

Medical professionals and healthcare workers are exactly the demographic that a high-density urban zone like Uptown Orange is designed to serve. They want short commutes, walkable amenities, and apartments that do not require a long drive to work. The combination of UCI Medical Center's existing scale and its ongoing expansion is one of the strongest demand drivers in Uptown Orange that is not directly tied to housing policy.

OC Vibe and the Pedestrian Bridge: The Bigger Picture

Uptown Orange sits directly across the Santa Ana River from one of the largest development projects in Southern California. OC Vibe is a $4 billion master-planned entertainment and mixed-use district being built around the Honda Center and ARTIC transportation hub in Anaheim. The first phase is expected to open in late 2026 or early 2027. The full project includes entertainment venues, restaurants, offices, apartments, parks, and hotels, with completion targeted around 2032.

The connection to Uptown Orange is not just geographic. City planners in both Orange and Anaheim have been working on a pedestrian and cycling bridge that would cross the Santa Ana River, directly linking West Katella Avenue in Orange to the OC Vibe and ARTIC campus in Anaheim. The U.S. Department of Transportation has granted $5 million in federal funding toward the Anaheim side of the bridge and river improvements. A separate $100 million OC River Walk project is already under construction, transforming the Santa Ana River corridor into a trail network with parks, public art, and gathering spaces. The first phase of the River Walk is expected to open in late 2026 alongside OC Vibe's debut.

When those connections open, residents in Uptown Orange will be able to walk or bike across the river to a major entertainment and transit hub without getting in a car. That is a meaningful quality-of-life amenity that does not yet exist but is moving toward becoming real. It is also the kind of improvement that tends to make nearby apartments more valuable over time.

What Comes Next in the Uptown Zone

The City of Orange has zoned Uptown for high-density development and is actively marketing the area to developers. AMLI Uptown Orange proves the residential demand is there. The UCI expansion, the Outlets of Orange, and OC Vibe collectively provide the commercial and employment anchors that make a walkable urban neighborhood work. The pieces are in place for additional projects.

As of mid-2026, no additional large apartment projects in the Uptown zone have been publicly announced with a confirmed developer and timeline. The city's housing element identifies the area as having capacity for significant additional units, and the 60 du/ac zoning means a developer with a two- or three-acre parcel could propose 120 to 180 units or more on a single site.

The factors that will determine how fast additional projects come are the availability of developable land (much of the area is occupied by hotels, medical offices, and retail), the broader apartment financing market, and whether the OC Vibe and River Walk timelines hold. When OC Vibe opens and the pedestrian bridge is funded and scheduled, the surrounding Uptown parcels become noticeably more attractive to developers. That could happen as soon as late 2026 or early 2027.

Uptown Orange and the City's Housing Mandate

California requires the City of Orange to plan for 3,936 new homes by 2029. The housing element was certified by the state in January 2024. Uptown Orange is one of the three designated housing corridors in the city's plan, and it is the most active of the three right now.

AMLI Uptown Orange's 334 units represent a meaningful portion of the housing that already exists in this zone, even though the building predates the current housing cycle. Additional projects in the zone would count toward the city's RHNA total. Given the number of units Orange still needs to plan for and build, Uptown is likely to see pressure to approve projects on available parcels as the 2029 deadline gets closer.

You can see how the City of Orange compares to other Orange County cities on the OC New Developments page.

What This Means for Renters, Buyers, and Investors

For renters interested in Uptown Orange: AMLI Uptown Orange is the primary option in the zone right now, with studios to three-bedrooms ranging from approximately $2,675 to over $5,000 per month. The location puts you next to UCI Medical Center, minutes from The Outlets of Orange, and well-positioned for both the 57 and 5 freeways. If you work in healthcare or at a major employer near the Anaheim convention area, the commute from here is genuinely short. Browse Orange real estate listings.

For buyers watching this area: Uptown Orange is not a single-family neighborhood. The residential product here is and will continue to be apartments and mixed-use buildings. If you own a condo or home near the zone, the long-term trend toward more activity, better walkability, and the OC Vibe connection has historically been positive for nearby values once development matures. The construction period for any new buildings would be disruptive in the short term.

For investors: Commercial land in Uptown Orange zoned at 60 du/ac and sitting close to OC Vibe and UCI Medical Center is exactly the type of site institutional apartment developers look for. If you own commercial or light industrial property in this zone, it is worth understanding what your site could support under the current zoning. The OC Vibe opening in late 2026 could trigger more developer inquiry into Uptown Orange parcels fairly quickly.

Watching This Zone Closely

Uptown Orange is the quieter, already-working part of the City of Orange housing story. The big project is already built, the zoning is in place, and two major catalysts across the river are approaching their opening dates. I will update this post when additional projects are announced in the zone. If you want to talk through what this part of Orange means for a home you own, a rental you are looking at, or a property you are considering selling, reach out anytime.

Questions about Uptown Orange or the City of Orange real estate market? Call or text Eric at 949-430-7500 or visit ocrealestateinc.com/orange.
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