By Eric Engelbert
Orange County's Skyline Moment
In the early 2000s, visitors to Berlin often remarked that roughly a third of the world's construction cranes were operating in a single city. Germany was rebuilding its reunified capital in real time. New towers, transit corridors, and entire urban districts were rising simultaneously. The cranes became the signature of a city transforming itself in a single generation. That concentration of building activity permanently remade Berlin's skyline and its identity.
Something similar is beginning to happen in Newport Beach.
A coastal city that has long resisted high-density residential development is now facing the most concentrated wave of luxury high-rise construction in its history. Within roughly a five-year window, twin 22-story towers from Related California, a 22-story Ritz-Carlton branded residential building, and more than 700 additional units from the Irvine Company are all either approved or under construction in Newport Center, the urban village at the geographic heart of Orange County. Additional projects are moving through approvals in the Airport Area and along Mariners' Mile.
The skyline of Newport Beach is about to change permanently. The Big Newport Towers from Related California are the most visible symbol of that change. And the story of how they came to be approved begins not with a developer or a planning document, but with a family and a movie theater that opened in 1969.
57 Years on Newport Center Drive
James Edwards Sr. opened the Big Newport on February 11, 1969 with a screening of Olivia Hussey in "Romeo and Juliet." It was the fourth theater in his growing Edwards Theatres chain and quickly became its flagship. The house had 1,130 seats and a 71-foot screen, one of the last great single-screen movie palaces built in Southern California before the multiplex era arrived in the 1970s. The Art Deco marquee at the front of the building became a recognizable landmark in Newport Center, visible from across Newport Center Drive.
Edwards Sr. ran the chain with a personal touch. He was known to greet patrons at matinees himself. He came to work daily at the theater's second-story offices until his death at the age of 90 in 1997. The Big Newport was not simply an investment property. It was an expression of the Edwards family's roots in Newport Beach, where they had lived for more than 70 years.
After Edwards Sr. died, the chain struggled financially. The family filed for bankruptcy protection in 2000 and formally relinquished the Edwards Theatres brand in 2001. Regal Cinemas acquired the operating business at the Big Newport in 2002 and has run the now six-screen theater ever since. Throughout that transition, the Edwards family retained ownership of the land and the building at 300 Newport Center Drive, as well as the adjacent property at 210 Newport Center Drive where a fitness facility operated.
Over the decades following, the Big Newport became more than a neighborhood theater. The Newport Beach Film Festival held screenings there annually, giving the venue a film culture connection unusual for a suburban multiplex. That history made the prospect of demolition particularly contentious when it became public.
Jim Edwards, son of the founder, publicly endorsed Related California's proposal at the Planning Commission hearing. "Nationally, theater attendance has declined every year for the last 20 years, and of course, Covid decimated the business, which hasn't recovered since," he told the Los Angeles Times. "Unfortunately, Big Newport is not immune to those conditions." He added: "With the changing trends, our family wants to honor dad's passion to create something special on this property."
The Edwards family had been interviewing prospective developers for some time before selecting Related California. No purchase price for the 4.17-acre site has been publicly disclosed.
The Project: Twin Towers at the Center of Orange County
Related California's approved plan calls for demolishing both existing structures at 210 and 300 Newport Center Drive and replacing them with two 22-story residential towers. At approximately 270 feet each, they will be among the tallest buildings in Newport Beach and taller than anything currently on the Newport Center skyline.
The development will contain 150 condominiums in two- and four-bedroom configurations, with penthouses at the top floors of each tower. Floor plans range from approximately 2,100 square feet on the lower end to 6,400 square feet for the largest penthouse residences. The project also includes live-work offices available for purchase by residents, along with ground-floor retail space and a cafe.
The towers share a connected podium base with shared amenities, parking, and common areas. No affordable housing units are included in the project. The site sits directly across Newport Center Drive from Fashion Island, Newport Beach's premier open-air shopping and dining destination. Upper-floor residences will have unobstructed views of Fashion Island's rooftops, the Back Bay estuary, the Santa Ana Mountains, and on clear days, the Pacific Ocean.
Location: 210 and 300 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach
Towers: 2 buildings, each 22 stories / approximately 270 feet
Units: 150 condominiums (2BR and 4BR + penthouses)
Unit sizes: approximately 2,100 to 6,400 sq ft
Also includes: live-work offices, retail, cafe
Affordable housing: none
Site: 4.17 acres
Who Is Related California?
Related California is an Irvine-based affiliate of Related Companies, one of the largest private real estate development firms in the United States. The parent company was founded by Stephen Ross in New York. Its signature project is Hudson Yards on Manhattan's west side, a roughly $25 billion mixed-use development on 28 acres that is one of the largest private real estate projects in American history.
Related California CEO Gino Canori leads the California operation. The firm has developed projects across the state, including in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and the Inland Empire. In Orange County, Related is also involved in Related Bristol in Santa Ana, a large mixed-income housing development near John Wayne Airport that is part of the city's broader effort to add workforce and affordable housing near transit.
The Big Newport Towers would be Related California's highest-profile luxury for-sale product in Southern California. The firm brings significant capital, relationships, and institutional credibility to a project that will require navigating ongoing City Council appeals before construction can begin.
No lender for the construction financing has been publicly identified. No architectural firm has been named in public records or news coverage to date. Both are expected to become known once the appeals process concludes and the project moves toward permitting.
Approvals, Appeals, and What Comes Next
The Newport Beach Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve the Related California project on March 6, 2026. The hearing included extensive public testimony. Jim Edwards III spoke in favor of the project on behalf of his family, a notable moment given the cultural weight of the theater's history in the community.
Environmental advocates and historic preservation groups filed appeals with the Newport Beach City Council following the Planning Commission vote. Those appeals center on environmental impact concerns and the loss of a structure with recognized historic and cultural significance. Under Newport Beach's appeals process, the City Council must hold a hearing and issue a final ruling before construction can proceed. As of July 2026, that hearing has not yet been scheduled.
The theater is expected to close in late 2026 or by approximately mid-2027, when Regal's lease expires. Once the appeals are resolved and full permits are issued, construction of a project of this scale typically takes 30 to 36 months. If the City Council resolves the appeals in late 2026 or early 2027 and construction begins shortly after, a realistic completion window would be sometime in 2029 or 2030.
There is also a broader political context. Newport Beach voters will decide in November 2026 whether to adopt the Responsible Housing Initiative, which would reduce the city's state-mandated housing target from more than 8,000 units to approximately 2,900. The Related California towers, already approved under the existing housing element, would not be affected by that ballot measure either way. But the initiative's outcome will shape what gets built next across Newport Center and the Airport Area.
What Will the Condos Sell For?
No pricing has been announced. Related California has not opened a sales program or released pre-sales information as of July 2026. That is expected given the project is still in the appeals phase.
What the broader Newport Beach luxury market suggests is a pricing range that would be among the highest ever offered in the city at scale. Existing luxury condominiums in Newport Coast and Crystal Cove have traded at $2,000 to $4,000 per square foot in recent years. The Big Newport Towers offer a fundamentally different product: urban luxury in a true high-rise format at the geographic center of Orange County, with panoramic views unavailable anywhere else in Newport Beach.
Applying a conservative range of $2,500 to $3,500 per square foot to the disclosed unit sizes produces the following estimates:
- Two-bedroom residences (approx. 2,100 sq ft): roughly $5 million to $7 million
- Four-bedroom residences (approx. 3,500 to 4,000 sq ft): roughly $9 million to $14 million
- Penthouses (up to 6,400 sq ft): potentially $15 million to $30 million or more
- Total project sellout at 150 units: potentially $1 billion to $1.5 billion
These are market-based estimates, not Related California's pricing. The actual numbers will depend on finish quality, view premiums by floor, and market conditions at the time of the sales launch, which is likely at least 18 to 24 months away.
If you want to be notified when sales information becomes public, or if you are interested in comparable properties available now in Newport Beach or Newport Coast, reach out directly.
What This Means for Newport Beach's Property Tax Base
California's Proposition 13 ties annual property taxes to the assessed value at the time of the most recent sale, with increases capped at 2% per year. A property that has been owned by the same family since 1969 and never fully sold is almost certainly assessed at a small fraction of its current market value. The Edwards family's 4.17-acre parcel at the center of Newport Beach likely generates a modest amount of annual property tax under Prop 13's rules.
When Related California's project is completed and 150 condominiums are sold, each unit will be reassessed at its sale price. That triggers a full market-value reassessment for each unit the moment it closes escrow.
At an estimated average sale price of $8 million per unit across 150 condominiums:
- Total assessed value: approximately $1.2 billion
- Annual property tax at the standard 1.1% effective rate: approximately $13 million
- Newport Beach's share of the 1% base rate: roughly 16 to 17 cents per tax dollar, or approximately $2 million per year in recurring city revenue
That represents a substantial and permanent increase in Newport Beach's annual general fund from a single 4.17-acre site. The city also collects one-time building permit fees based on construction value, which for a project of this scale could total several million dollars. Development impact fees, charged on a per-unit basis to offset infrastructure and public facility costs, would apply as well. The city has not publicly released a fee estimate for this specific project.
For context, Newport Beach's total annual property tax revenue from all sources is in the range of $60 to $80 million per year. This single project, once sold and on the tax rolls at market value, would represent a meaningful addition to that base from one corner of one intersection.
The Affordable Housing Question: Newport Beach, County, or State?
The Big Newport Towers include no affordable housing. That is not unusual for a market-rate luxury project in Newport Center. The bigger question, which comes up with nearly every Newport Beach development, is how affordable housing income limits are actually set for this city.
The answer surprises most people: Newport Beach uses the Orange County Area Median Income (AMI), as published annually by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. It does not use Newport Beach's own household income levels, which are substantially higher. It does not use a statewide figure.
For 2025, the Orange County AMI for a family of four is $169,200. That is the 100% AMI baseline for all affordable housing programs in Newport Beach and across Orange County.
What that means in practice:
- Very Low Income (50% AMI): a family of four earning up to $84,600 per year
- 60% AMI threshold (used for most tax-credit financed units): up to $101,520
- Low Income (80% AMI): up to $135,360
For rent, HUD-derived caps in Orange County produce these maximum rents on income-restricted units for 2025:
- 2-bedroom at 50% AMI: approximately $1,903 per month
- 2-bedroom at 60% AMI: approximately $2,284 per month
Newport Beach market-rate two-bedroom apartments routinely rent for $4,000 to $6,000 or more per month, and for-sale two-bedroom condos trade at $1 million to $5 million or higher. The gap between what "affordable" means by state and federal definition and what is actually attainable in Newport Beach is enormous.
In Newport Center specifically, the Irvine Company's development agreement with the city requires 105 units priced at or below the Very Low or Low Income thresholds to be delivered by 2029, spread across the company's projects in the area. The Related California towers are separate and have no independent affordable housing requirement.
For anyone considering purchasing a home in Newport Beach and trying to understand how affordability programs interact with the market here, I am glad to walk through the details.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will the Big Newport Theater close?
The Edwards family chose not to extend Regal's lease beyond its current term. The theater is expected to close sometime in late 2026 or by approximately mid-2027. No official closing date has been announced publicly.
How much will condos at the Big Newport Towers cost?
No pricing has been released. Based on Newport Beach luxury market comparables and the disclosed unit size range of approximately 2,100 to 6,400 square feet, two-bedroom residences are likely to start in the range of $5 million to $7 million. Four-bedroom homes and penthouses could range significantly higher. These are market-based estimates only. Related California has not opened a sales program as of July 2026.
Is there affordable housing in the project?
No. The 150 condominiums are entirely market-rate. Newport Center's broader affordable housing obligation is handled through the Irvine Company's separate development agreement with the city, which requires 105 below-market-rate units by 2029.
What is the status of the appeals?
Environmental and historic preservation advocates filed appeals with the Newport Beach City Council after the Planning Commission unanimously approved the project on March 6, 2026. The City Council must hold a hearing and issue a ruling before construction can begin. That hearing had not yet been scheduled as of July 2026.
Will the Responsible Housing Initiative affect this project?
No. The Related California towers were approved under Newport Beach's existing certified Housing Element. The November 2026 ballot measure, if passed, would reduce future housing targets but would not affect projects already approved. Construction would proceed regardless of the ballot outcome, pending resolution of the current Council-level appeals.
Looking at Newport Beach Real Estate?
The Big Newport Towers are one of more than a dozen major residential projects reshaping Newport Beach and the surrounding Orange County market over the next five years. Whether you are watching the market, considering a purchase now, or curious about what is coming to the neighborhood, I can help you understand what it means for pricing, inventory, and opportunity.
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