By: Chad Kim

Based on a prior City of Westminster document, a previous developer gained approval to build 37 live/work units on a 1.83 acre site at 6302 Maple Avenue. The previous developer decided to go in the process of selling the land to The Olsen Company. The new developer plans to continue the plan, with slight proposed changes, to build the live/work units. According to the document, the changes pertained to the architectural style where the previous developer chose modern with a flat roof, whereas The Olsen Company proposes Spanish architectural style with pitched roofs. Another proposed change pertains to the amount of bedrooms. For more information check out the June 3, 2015 Planning Commission Agenda Item report pertaining to this project: http://www.westminster-ca.gov/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?BlobID=10327
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Site Plan: ​

Old Rendering: Source

New Rendering:Source
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By: Chad Kim

One Broadway Plaza is a planned skyscraper consisting of 37 floors (491 feet tall) of office space at Downtown Santa Ana at 1001 N. Broadway  (Source).


Rendering:
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Map:
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By: Chad Kim



According to a Irvine City document, the developer, Great Far East, is proposing a dense residential project at the intersection of Derian Avenue and Kelvin Avenue. The proposed project consists of 371 residential units and the total size of the project site is 4.77 acres. The building will be a wrap around style where the residential building will be five stories tall (the apex of the building would stand at 71.5 feet tall. This is just below the max allowable height of 75 feet) and the parking structure will be 6 stories and would provide 7 levels resulting in a total of 598 parking spaces. To read more about this project check out the link here: http://www.irvinequickrecords.com/sirepub/cache/2/qzsfmhrzir2pyt5b0hydzk5l/163026990726201511465829.PDF
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Source: http://www.irvinequickrecords.com/sirepub/cache/2/qzsfmhrzir2pyt5b0hydzk5l/1630269907272015120335516.PDF

Map:
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By: Chad Kim

According to the environmental document with regard to this project, The Heritage Mixed Use Project is a planned project located in the eastern side of the City of Santa Ana. Specifically, the proposed project is located at the intersection of Red Hill Avenue and Dyer Road at 2001 East Dyer Road. The site of the project is 18.84 acres large. The residential component consists of a total of 1,221 multi-family apartments. The apartments are planned to consist of the upper three stories out of the total five stories (67 feet and 6 inches tall) and it is proposed to have a total of three buildings. The bottom two floors, of each building, would consist of retail and restaurants all totaling to 18,090 sq. ft.

Currently, the site has an existing warehousing and office building. The proposed plan is to replace the warehousing portion and retain the office which is two stories and is 56,000 square feet. The proposed project is also planned to provide open space (public and private spaces). More information can be found about the open space component on page 2-7 of the document. With regard to parking, the project is planned to provide a total of 2,496 parking spaces of which 2,270 would be residential parking spaces, 118 non-residential parking spaces, and 108 parking spaces for the existing office component.
 

By: Chad Kim

According to the City of Santa Ana, the project located at 1901 East First Street consists of 256 apartment units. The total size of the project site is 5.1 acres and will have three 5 story buildings which total to 242 apartment units, and will also include 14 town-home units (each are 3 stories tall). The 5 story buildings will be located at the central and west side. The project site already has an existing parking structure that has 4 levels and contains a total of 660 parking spaces. The town-home units will be located east and south of the parking structure. The City's description also states that the units will be built to condominium standards which would allow the developer to sell individual units in the future.
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Rendering (Source): ​

Based on Orange County Structure Blog's update with regard to this project, the project has already been under construction:
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By: Chad Kim

​On June 10, 2013 Orange County experienced the introduction of its first Bravo! route, Route 543 (source). This is a limited-stop bus service (rapid bus) similar to L.A.'s Metro Rapid. Route 543 travels on Harbor Boulevard between Fullerton Transportation Center and Harbor & MacArthur.

Map of Route 543: http://www.octa.net/bravointeractive/index.htm

Additional details of Route 543: http://www.octa.net/BravoBusService.aspx

Picture of a Bravo! Bus:
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(Source)
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According to the OC Register, Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) is to be awarded a $2.3 million grant from the state under the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program to fund for the next Bravo! rapid bus route, Route 560. This route will not replace the existing Route 60 ,but will travel on the same corridor.

Route 543 is a north-south route, Route 560 will be a east-west route traveling on Westminster/17th Street from the Santa Ana Depot to Cal State Long Beach. By introducing Route 560, it will create a network that will provide bus passengers with a faster option. Route 543 will intersect with Route 560 at Harbor-Westminster which is also where the terminus of the upcoming OC Streetcar will be located. Additionally, the City of Santa is planning for promoting a multimodal mixed use corridor under their planned Harbor Mixed Use Transit Corridor Specific Plan. In the foreseeable future, this intersection could become one of the best location for those looking for a more transit, active transportation, and mixed-use development friendly location. The intersection area is already seeing a proposed development. It is called The Line and is named after the multiple transit options available in the immediate area.

Stay tuned for more news about Route 560!
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By: Chad Kim

Orange County Business Journal and OC Register are reporting that R.D. Olson Development is proposing a 14 story hotel next to the recently completed eight story Courtyard Irvine Spectrum hotel located in the City of Irvine:

Picture taken: 1/1/2015

Existing eight story Courtyard Irvine Spectrum hotel located at 7955 Irvine Center Drive. 

R.D. Olson Development's website, provides some detail about the proposed project. The proposed 14 story hotel would be a Marriott that would have a total of 250 hotel rooms. Their website also states the hotel would also have, "...a restaurant, bar and lounge; over 9,000 square feet of meeting and prefunction space with a large event lawn; expansive pool and spa...". Additional amenities include a two story fitness area totaling 2,000 sq. ft. and also a rooftop terrace. 

According to the OC Register, the proposed project is still under review by the city and, if approved, the project could start in November and finish construction around Summer 2017.

The Irvine Spectrum area has been seeing an increase in dense development such as the Centerpointe apartment project and the under construction 200 Spectrum Center tower which will take the title of Orange County's tallest building. The Irvine Company is also proposing for another high rise office tower near the 200 Spectrum Center.