Newport Beach Complex to Expand at a Cost of $800K Per Unit

The owners of a Newport Beach apartment complex by the Back Bay want to expand it by 366 units — at $800,000 a pop.

Dallas-based Park Newport LP has filed plans to expand its Park Newport Apartments at 1 Park Newport, the Orange County Business Journal reported.

The 1,306-unit complex on 52 acres would expand by 366 apartments at a cost of $800,000 each. The total outlay: $293 million.

The sprawling complex along the bluffs of Upper Newport Bay sits across Jamboree Road from the Fashion Island mall. The complex, built a half century ago by Gerson Bakar & Associates, has 44 two- and three-story buildings, plus seven pools, a clubhouse and 10 sport courts.

Residents of Park Newport have included actors Telly Savalas and Raquel Welch, and athletes Joe Torre, Bobby Riggs and Dennis Rodman.

The property is now owned by San Francisco-based Prado Group, according to the Business Journal. It’s not clear how Park Newport, or a Park Newport Land it said was involved in the expansion, are tied.

Plans for the 6-acre expansion call for demolishing a leasing building, reflecting pool, tennis court and a 260-vehicle parking structure, as well as six apartments.

The landlord would then build 360 new apartments, including 285 market-rate units and 15 set aside for low-income tenants. The other 60 new apartments are “density bonus” residences, an indication of affordable housing units, according to the Business Journal.

The project would include 40 studio, 138 one-bedroom, 151 two-bedroom and 31 three-bedroom apartments, with an average size of 950 square feet. It would also include a 12,000-square-foot amenity space and 7,000 square feet of shops.

The expansion of the largest apartment complex near Fashion Island is the latest development among other multifamily projects in the works.

Locally based Irvine Company recently proposed a combined 800 apartment units at Villas of Fashion Island at 1000 San Joaquin Plaza and Newport Center’s Block 100, a four-building multifamily project at 11 Newport Center Drive.

The firm also wants to convert part of an office campus at MacArthur Court near John Wayne Airport into 700 homes.

The upscale coastal city has a state-mandated plan to build 4,845 homes by 2029, of which 2,386 would be affordable for very low-income and low-income households.

— Dana Bartholomew