Newport Beach Approves Market-Rate Condos Near Airport

Newport Beach officials gave the green light to a condominium development near John Wayne International Airport.

The Newport Beach Planning Commission approved the development of 100 market-rate condos, known as The Residences at 1500 Quail Street, the Los Angeles Times reported. The application comes from an LLC known as Quail Newport Owner, linked in city records to Lincoln Property Company.

The Residences at 1500 Quail Street will replace an existing office building at the site and become part of the forthcoming Newport Place planned community. The development will contain 100 three- and four-bedroom condos for sale spread across 24 buildings on a 4.8-acre site. The buildings will max out at 39 feet in height with units ranging in size from 1,591 to 1,876 square feet. Each unit will come with a two-car garage. In total, the development will comprise 236,408 square feet.

The Newport Beach Planning Commission voted unanimously in favor of the project. The city is on the hook to plan for 8,174 new units of housing by the end of 2029 – with one-third of those units being affordable housing – in order to meet state-mandated housing goals.

One resident expressed concern at the city’s ability to meet its obligations for affordable units in particular.

“That puts the requirement higher of how much affordable housing will have to be developed in the rest of those 8,174, quite a few of which we’ve already assigned,” the resident said, per the Times. “This is contributing to that problem, which I think will come back to bite us.”

Newport Beach planning manager Ben Zdeba pushed back on that claim, saying the city’s Community Development Department is monitoring available development sites. Department records show enough space remaining to build the amount of affordable units required by the state, according to the Times.

“We do have an adequate buffer, even considering the possible approval before you today,” Zdeba said.— Chris Malone Méndez