The Colony Newport Beach, California
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The Colony Newport Beach, California Project Type: Residential Case No: C031017 Year: 2001 SUMMARY The Colony represents the highest end of market-rate luxury apartment communities in Orange County, California. It is marketed to a clientele that expects an amenity-rich environment, comparable to one experienced at a resort hotel. This clientele of “luxury renters,” the existence of which was brought about by a prosperous economy and changing lifestyles, consists primarily of professionals and empty nesters, many of whom are tapping into built-up real estate equity and now want an enhanced location and lifestyle. Others desire a second home without the long-term commitment or capital investment that buying involves. Located in the 622-acre (252-hectare) Newport Center, which was built in 1965, the Colony adds a residential layer to Newport Center’s commercial, retail, and entertainment uses. It decreases society’s impact on the environment by providing a way for people to work, live, shop, and participate in the southern California lifestyle without the need for vehicular transportation. The development owes some of its success to the soundness of its founding concept and contributes to the antisprawl equilibrium resulting from balanced land use. FEATURES Residential infill in a high-density commercial area Large, upscale rental units offering deluxe amenities and hotel-quality services Ocean, harbor, and city views On-site design center for selecting unit upgrades The Colony Newport Beach, California Project Type: Residential Subcategory: Multifamily Housing Volume 31 Number 17 October-December 2001 Case Number: C031017 PROJECT TYPE The Colony represents the highest end of market-rate luxury apartment communities in Orange County, California. It is marketed to a clientele that expects an amenity-rich environment, comparable to one experienced at a resort hotel. This clientele of “luxury renters,” the existence of which was brought about by a prosperous economy and changing lifestyles, consists primarily of professionals and empty nesters, many of whom are tapping into built-up real estate equity and now want an enhanced location and lifestyle. Others desire a second home without the long-term commitment or capital investment that buying involves. Located in the 622-acre (252-hectare) Newport Center, which was built in 1965, the Colony adds a residential layer to Newport Center’s commercial, retail, and entertainment uses. It decreases society’s impact on the environment by providing a way for people to work, live, shop, and participate in the southern California lifestyle without the need for vehicular transportation. The development owes some of its success to the soundness of its founding concept and contributes to the antisprawl equilibrium resulting from balanced land use. SPECIAL FEATURES Residential infill in a high-density commercial area Large, upscale rental units offering deluxe amenities and hotel-quality services Ocean, harbor, and city views On-site design center for selecting unit upgrades OWNER/DEVELOPER Irvine Apartment Communities 550 Newport Center Drive Suite 300 Newport Beach, California 92660 949-720-5500 Fax: 949-720-5550 www.irvineco.com ARCHITECT McLarand Vasquez Emsiek & Partners, Inc. 695 Town Center Drive Suite 300 Costa Mesa, California 92626 949-809-3300 Fax: 949-809-3350 www.mve-architects.com LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Burton Landscape Architecture Studio 307 South Cedrose Avenue Solana Beach, California 92075 858-794-7204 Fax: 858-794-7207 BUILDER Sares-Regis Group 18802 Bardeen Avenue Irvine, California 92612-1521 949-756-5959 Fax: 949-756-5955 www.sares-regis.com SITE DESCRIPTION The Colony is located in the midst of Newport Center in Newport Beach, Orange County, California, at the southern end of the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. Newport Center—half a mile (0.8 kilometer) inland from Newport Harbor, the largest recreational boat harbor in the world—is a mixed-use development that is part of Irvine Ranch. Irvine Ranch has been owned by the Irvine Company since the 1860s and is one of the nation’s largest master-planned communities, a 90-square-mile (233-square-kilometer) development that includes the cities of Irvine, Newport Beach, and Tustin Ranch. The 622-acre (252-hectare), mixed-use Newport Center complex includes offices, hotels, restaurants, and a premier retail center, Fashion Island, at its center. Fashion Island is an oval-shaped, 85-acre (34-hectare) mall with 200 stores, 40 restaurants, and two multiplex cinemas. Irvine Apartment Communities (IAC), an affiliate of the Irvine Companies, developed and built the project. At the periphery of Newport Center are low-rise office parks and relatively tall office buildings—a few as high as 20 stories—and three hotels. One-third of the roughly one-square-mile (259-hectare) Newport Center is occupied by the Newport Beach Country Club. Newport Center also is home to 800 firms that employ approximately 15,000 people, serving a region of roughly 75,000 full-time residents and 100,000 people during the summer months. The Colony represents the first high-density luxury apartment building developed by IAC. IAC worked to capitalize on the exclusivity of the Fashion Island mall address, incorporating the Fashion Island name in the property’s name during the initial marketing period. The property also is the first residential structure built in recent years in the Newport Center complex. The Colony fills a need for housing in this area of high-tech industry and commercial development. DEVELOPMENT PROCESS The property was the only parcel zoned for multifamily residential development in Newport Center. The approval process was fairly routine and the site required no unusual infrastructure or grading. With a height restriction of 225 feet (69 meters), it would have been permissible to construct a 20-story building, but IAC believed that the low-rise concept would appeal the most to residents of a rental property. It was decided that a low profile would enhance the natural landscape and that hiding the parking was also desirable. As such, the parking facility was designed as a partially underground garage. Other property at Newport Center zoned for residential use was permitted for single-family development, and IAC had established 400 condominium units among three townhouse communities associated with the country club. The Colony would be IAC’s first high-density luxury multifamily project, and IAC understood that the concept and marketing strategy would have to be different from those used for developing townhomes. For example, the units would have to be considerably larger than IAC’s standard apartment units. The Colony’s floor plans, on average, are 200 square feet (19 square meters) larger than IAC’s typical apartment units and range from 1,008 square feet (94 square meters) for the smallest one-bedroom unit to 1,546 square feet (144 square meters) for a two-bedroom-with-den unit. Another crucial element would be the amenities—they needed to be top-notch, in luxury surroundings. DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION The Colony is a 245-unit, low-rise infill apartment complex in a cross-axial configuration of four residential quadrants, each organized around its own landscaped courtyard. A gated, palm-lined entry drive, positioned across San Clemente Drive from the Orange County Museum of Art, leads to an 80-foot-diameter (24-meter-diameter) motor court. Inscribed in the pavement of the circular motor court is a bronze-edged compass rose. Coming off this compass are pedestrian paseos leading to Fashion Island, the country club, and other amenities of Newport Center. All units are based on six floor plans, but varying arrangements have allowed for four unique quadrants, each comprising three- and four-story clusters facing a themed courtyard, and offering panoramic views of the mountains, the golf course, the harbor, the ocean—even Catalina Island, 30 miles (48 kilometers) due west. The courtyards are essentially closed, opening to the paseos through wide, two-story mural-walled archways between units at grade level. The courtyards help to provide a neighborhood identity for each building in the complex, creating the feel of small communities. Each theme is carried out in the fountains, artwork, and pavement materials. On axis with the gated entry to the complex is a large clubhouse with a generous pool and spa. There also is a separate health club facility. The property falls 28 feet (8.5 meters) from one corner to the diagonally opposite corner. The designers took advantage of this topographical feature by creating underground parking under two quadrants at the elevated end, and two levels of underground parking at the lower end. Locating the parking underground maximized the surface grade allotted to residential units, while simultaneously allowing residents to park their cars a mere elevator ride away from their units. Each unit is assigned two reserved parking spaces. Thus, no surface parking lots mar the site, and the gated, underground parking is accessed directly from the street at the lower end of the site, eliminating the need to pass the main entry. The sloping topography also allowed the designers to adjust the heights of the residential units to maximize views of surrounding properties. Keeping building heights to 50 feet (15 meters)—well under the allowable 225 feet (69 meters)—accomplished this. The developer, which has continuously developed Newport Center in its entirety since 1965, opted to forego the permissible higher density, instead maintaining the integrity of the community by adding only projects that do not compromise what is already there. AMENITIES AND SERVICES A wealth of amenities and services make up the luxury lifestyle package at the Colony. A full-time concierge is on staff to arrange everything from valet service, restaurant reservations, and theater tickets to catering and travel assistance. Daily or weekly maid service, and handyman services also are available. When residents travel, they can rely on the on-site staff to walk their dogs and to pick up their mail and newspapers, achieving a desirable “lock-and-go” lifestyle.