IRVINE ? A developer wants to put shops, restaurants, a 150-room hotel, a movie theater and office buildings on land in the Irvine Business Complex formerly home to women?s luxury label St. John.
The 9.35 acres in question is at the southwest corner of Michelson Drive and Jamboree Road, across the street from Central Park, one of the Business Complex?s first major mixed-use projects.
Owner LBA Realty wants to turn the property into a commercial complex with nine buildings, including a seven-story hotel, six-level parking structure, five-story office buildings and a two-story cinema.
LBA Realty consultant Tim Strader Jr., president of Starpointe Ventures, told the City Council in late February that the firm wanted to negotiate a development agreement with a committee of council members or with city staff.
That request, however, failed to gain enough support to move forward. Mayor Steven Choi and Councilwoman Christina Shea were in favor while council members Beth Krom and Jeff Lalloway were opposed. Councilwoman Lynn Schott was absent.
Krom said talks could wait until the city gets results of a traffic study commissioned in 2015 ? especially since the Irvine Business Complex area is among the areas impacted by congestion.
Such negotiations often involve the exchange of development rights for public benefits, such as infrastructure.
?I just think the timing is not right for us to be entering into a development agreement discussion because I think we need to understand the lay of the land a little bit better,? she said.
Results of the city?s review of transportation are expected in April, City Manager Sean Joyce said.
The property is part of a larger parcel of more than 15 acres where city leaders in 2008 OK?d plans by international real estate firm Hines for a large-scale office and retail development.
Hines proposed 785,000 square feet of office and 15,500 square feet of retail and restaurant space; the signature element was to be a large, central open area called ?The Green? surrounded by office towers and parking structures.
But the Hines California Green project never went forward. In 2014, ownership of the 9.35-acre plot transferred to LBA Realty after the land was foreclosed upon, according to a report by city staff.
Strader Jr. said LBA Realty wants a new development agreement for just that land ? a contract to supersede the one previously reached for the larger, undeveloped project.
At the moment, the property has just shy of 144,000 square feet of manufacturing space and 26,000 square feet of office space.
The new proposal for a mixed-use commercial center would bring more than 200,000 additional square feet of office space and about 51,000 of retail space in addition to the hotel and movie theater.
The 9.35 acres in question is at the southwest corner of Michelson Drive and Jamboree Road, across the street from Central Park, one of the Business Complex?s first major mixed-use projects.
Owner LBA Realty wants to turn the property into a commercial complex with nine buildings, including a seven-story hotel, six-level parking structure, five-story office buildings and a two-story cinema.
LBA Realty consultant Tim Strader Jr., president of Starpointe Ventures, told the City Council in late February that the firm wanted to negotiate a development agreement with a committee of council members or with city staff.
That request, however, failed to gain enough support to move forward. Mayor Steven Choi and Councilwoman Christina Shea were in favor while council members Beth Krom and Jeff Lalloway were opposed. Councilwoman Lynn Schott was absent.
Krom said talks could wait until the city gets results of a traffic study commissioned in 2015 ? especially since the Irvine Business Complex area is among the areas impacted by congestion.
Such negotiations often involve the exchange of development rights for public benefits, such as infrastructure.
?I just think the timing is not right for us to be entering into a development agreement discussion because I think we need to understand the lay of the land a little bit better,? she said.
Results of the city?s review of transportation are expected in April, City Manager Sean Joyce said.
The property is part of a larger parcel of more than 15 acres where city leaders in 2008 OK?d plans by international real estate firm Hines for a large-scale office and retail development.
Hines proposed 785,000 square feet of office and 15,500 square feet of retail and restaurant space; the signature element was to be a large, central open area called ?The Green? surrounded by office towers and parking structures.
But the Hines California Green project never went forward. In 2014, ownership of the 9.35-acre plot transferred to LBA Realty after the land was foreclosed upon, according to a report by city staff.
Strader Jr. said LBA Realty wants a new development agreement for just that land ? a contract to supersede the one previously reached for the larger, undeveloped project.
At the moment, the property has just shy of 144,000 square feet of manufacturing space and 26,000 square feet of office space.
The new proposal for a mixed-use commercial center would bring more than 200,000 additional square feet of office space and about 51,000 of retail space in addition to the hotel and movie theater.