FivePoint to Add 1,300 Homes to Irvine Megadevelopment

FivePoint Holdings wants to squeeze more homes into its Great Park Neighborhoods megaproject in Irvine while sacrificing commercial space.

The local developer is asking city officials to approve nearly 1,300 more residential units at the 2,100-acre Great Park Neighborhoods, the Orange County Business Journal reported.

The move would increase entitlements for the master-planned community from 10,566 homes to 11,856.

The acreage is part of the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro. The additional homes would largely rise in parts of the Great Park Neighborhoods that were previously slated to host office, retail and other commercial development.

FivePoint pivoted to more housing “in response to current market demands.” It will also assist in addressing housing needs, the firm said.

The City of Irvine is required to plan for 23,610 new homes by 2029 as part of its housing element.

The Great Park Neighborhoods opened its first community in 2013 and has been one of the country’s top-selling master-planned projects, with builders reporting more than 7,000 home sales.

FivePoint has already sold over 9,000 lots, averaging about $790,000 each. If those prices hold, the new entitlements could unlock nearly $1 billion in future lot sales, more than double FivePoint’s current market cap of roughly $410 million.

The developer has gradually expanded its residential scope over the years. The project’s initial plan called for 4,894 homes before the city increased that figure in 2013 in exchange for FivePoint taking on more responsibility for managing the megadevelopment.

Alongside the latest entitlement request filed with the city, FivePoint has plans for 1,184 housing units across 191 acres. About 691 homes have already been approved. In order to fit the housing in, the developer would cut 755,000 square feet from its commercial pipeline, leaving 3.7 million square feet of office and other nonresidential uses still entitled.

— Chris Malone Méndez