Newport Beach OKs Intracorp, Picerne housing projects near JW Airport

Intracorp Homes and Picerne Group were given the go-ahead to replace offices near John Wayne Airport in Newport Beach with condominiums and apartments.

In separate projects, Intracorp, based in Vancouver, was approved by the City Council to build 67 condos at 1401 Quail Street, while locally based Picerne got a green light for a 229-unit apartment complex at 1400 Bristol Street, the Orange County Register reported.

The projects require buildings be bulldozed, including a 22,900-square foot office building at 1401 Quail and a 29,400-square-foot building at 1400 Bristol. 

The council approved both projects over the objection of the Orange County Airport Land Use Commission, which determined each project was “inconsistent” with the land-use plan for the airport zone.

In January, the commission found aircraft noise was incompatible with residents living at the proposed locations. It also said the airport zone should support airport operations, with “safety standards to promote navigational safety and reduce potential safety hazards” for people living and working near John Wayne Airport.

In 2006, the City Council approved development of up to 2,200 housing units in the airport area. Both developers asked the City Council to change the zoning for the two commercial properties from office mixed-use to residential. Both projects were approved last fall by the city Planning Commission.

Plans by Intracorp Homes call for 67 condominiums, including eight set aside as affordable, plus a parking garage for 146 cars.

Plans by Picerne call for 229 apartments, including 23 units set aside as affordable, plus a parking garage for 422 cars. Last year, the council also approved a Picerne plan to build a 312-unit complex on the same site. A pedestrian bridge will link both complexes.

Newport Beach has a state-mandated housing goal to plan for 4,485 homes by 2030. 

The wealthy city has targeted the West Newport Mesa, Dover-Westcliff, Newport Center and Coyote Canyon for more homes, with another 2,577 units near the OC airport.

In August, Newport Beach cut its requirement for affordable homes near John Wayne Airport by half, hoping to attract developers. The city slashed the affordable requirement to 15 percent, from 30 percent, in a 145-acre swath of industrial and office properties near the airport, located in nearby Santa Ana.

“The city is in a tough spot,” Seimone Jurjis, assistant city manager for Newport Beach, told the Register. “Where do you put what the state wants? At the same time, the office market is getting soft. Property owners are reconsidering what to do with their properties.

“If a developer has affordable housing in its project, cities have little chance in voting that down,” he said. “It’s in the city’s best interest to approve where the housing will go. If we don’t, we lose local control.”

Canada-based Intracorp, founded by Joe Houssian in 1976, has offices in Vancouver, Seattle, Austin and Newport Beach. In April last year, it filed plans to raze two office buildings to build 40 homes in Tustin.

The Picerne Group, founded in 1988 by Kenneth Picerne, has more than 40,000 multifamily units, in addition to more than 2 million square feet of retail and office buildings, according to its website.

— Dana Bartholomew

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