New communities in Portola Springs

[Slevinkelevra]

I?m surprised they are starting this high.  Azul started at 2.1 over at the Groves in a lower interest rate environment.  But then again IP is very good at what they do and likely have a good feel for what they can get.  Cielo (Ravello) is supposed to start at 2.4-2.5 which appears to be a better value especially since the lot sizing is significantly larger and most have views.

 

[linus]

Fiore Phase 1 pricing seems kind of close to Sierra?s though Fiore isn?t SFR

 

[usctrojancpa]

I was at Cielo and Azul registering a few clients at 9am to 10am and there were dozens of people and cars parked. 

 

[abhinata]

Missed you USC Today at the Portola! Thought i could get a name to the face. Next time for sure.

What did you think about the plans and the release price. Anything worth getting for $2M+ in this market?
I personally liked Azul -3 and Cielo-1.

I was at Cielo and Azul registering a few clients at 9am to 10am and there were dozens of people and cars parked.

 

[usctrojancpa]

Missed you USC Today at the Portola! Thought i could get a name to the face. Next time for sure.

What did you think about the plans and the release price. Anything worth getting for $2M+ in this market?
I personally liked Azul -3 and Cielo-1.

I was at Cielo and Azul registering a few clients at 9am to 10am and there were dozens of people and cars parked.

Not sure that any of the homes in Phase 1 are interesting enough to pull the trigger and iPac can't really raise prices much at all in the current environment.  I'd get pre-qual'ed by the builder's lender and get up high on the list and then wait for better lots (larger lots and/or view lots) as that's what the buyers that I registered are going to do.

 

[Danimal]

I went to see Azul & Cielo today. Not crazy crowd but parking along the street is 75% full.  Houses are beautiful but  couple of things I notice:

1) No more up to ceiling cabinets which is  definitely a step down. IP rep said they switched to new vendor from South Coast Cabinet
2) Some upstair doors are no longer 9 feet tall, only couple of main ones. They make the rooms feel little cramp.

Wonder why IP decided to go with these 2 design changes? Save cost for $2+ mil homes?

 

[CalBears96]

I went to see Azul & Cielo today. Not crazy crowd but parking along the street is 75% full.  Houses are beautiful but  couple of things I notice:

1) No more up to ceiling cabinets which is  definitely a step down. IP rep said they switched to new vendor from South Coast Cabinet
2) Some upstair doors are no longer 9 feet tall, only couple of main ones. They make the rooms feel little cramp.

Wonder why IP decided to go with these 2 design changes? Save cost for $2+ mil homes?

For the cabinets, standard is not up to ceiling. It's an upgrade. Fortunately for us, sales lady put it in as pre-selected upgrades. That's one of the things that my wife really wanted.

Upstairs ceiling is only 9 ft high, so I don't think upstair doors were ever 9 ft tall. Even downstairs doors are probably only 8.5 ft tall. I'm looking at the door in my office right now and it seems to be 1.5 ft lower than the ceiling, which is 10 ft high.

 

[Danimal]

I went to see Azul & Cielo today. Not crazy crowd but parking along the street is 75% full.  Houses are beautiful but  couple of things I notice:

1) No more up to ceiling cabinets which is  definitely a step down. IP rep said they switched to new vendor from South Coast Cabinet
2) Some upstair doors are no longer 9 feet tall, only couple of main ones. They make the rooms feel little cramp.

Wonder why IP decided to go with these 2 design changes? Save cost for $2+ mil homes?

For the cabinets, standard is not up to ceiling. It's an upgrade. Fortunately for us, sales lady put it in as pre-selected upgrades. That's one of the things that my wife really wanted.

Upstairs ceiling is only 9 ft high, so I don't think upstair doors were ever 9 ft tall. Even downstairs doors are probably only 8.5 ft tall. I'm looking at the door in my office right now and it seems to be 1.5 ft lower than the ceiling, which is 10 ft high.

For Ravello & Fresco, ceiling cabinet is standard.

Maybe my eyes are not good at approximating the door height. It may be 8 ft not 9 ft but the point is that it?s odd that IP decides to use different door height instead of all 8ft ish doors. They make the rooms feel less openness.

 

[WTTCHMN]

Normally TIC grand openings are packed to the gills? people have to park on dirt and sometimes even get bussed in.

Comparatively, this one was a ghost town.  No food, no music, no TIC swag, I don?t even think I saw a single balloon.  I did get a bottle of water (but served warm, not in buckets of ice).

For 2+ million dollar homes, TIC has really gone cheap.

 

[chasingpowder]

The Azul and Cielo floor plan are just so so bad. Doesn?t make sense to me at all, one plan has the master bathroom entrance so far away from the bed, you need to walk like 50ft, I don?t know but it?s far, to get the the toilet. For an old man like me, it?s not fun to go at night.

 

[potsticker]

We're pretty high up on both Azul and Cielo lists and were offered Phase 1 homes for both. We decided to pass as PS is still a bit far from us and the lots seem too close to Dreamcatcher for our liking.

 

[sgip]

Went to the Bluffs/Azul/Cielo on Sunday. I will say once the view lots come to market, the prices will certainly be eye watering. Too bad it was hazy as there will likely be some sweet views from the front row homes.

For those recent buyers of a new home, in each model there are always upgrade lists. The upgrade list for Cielo was relatively limited indicating that most of what you see is priced into the home - a good thing. Curious if anyone has been told what those "upgrades" really cost if you were to match a production home to the same level as the model, especially in the kitchen where outlets, can lights, and appliances really matter most.

The big surprise for me were the Azul and Cielo floor plans. If I was blindfolded and frog marched from one model to another, the differences between models would be hard to tell once the blindfold was lifted. With only a 250-300 SF difference between M1 and M3 there will of course be some similarity between floor plans. Some distinct variables in style would have been nice to see. "Since these are going to sell, why be creative?", must be the thinking behind the sameness of each home. Also there were paint issues in a couple of the models, visible primarily from the 2nd floor level. Must of had a huge push to get these open by the 16th and things were simply missed.

The models were still pretty jammed with 2-3 families in each. As well, the parking areas resembled a Tesla super center. Well over 60% of all parked cars at the time I was there (Noon) were Teslas. Elon would be proud! Perhaps Donald Bren could drop a charging station in the model parking lot, powered by one of the solar systems on-site.

My .02c

 

[chasingpowder]

They are equally, sameness BAD. I hope people stop buying so irvine company will improve in the future.

The big surprise for me were the Azul and Cielo floor plans. If I was blindfolded and frog marched from one model to another, the differences between models would be hard to tell once the blindfold was lifted. With only a 250-300 SF difference between M1 and M3 there will of course be some similarity between floor plans. Some distinct variables in style would have been nice to see. "Since these are going to sell, why be creative?", must be the thinking behind the sameness of each home.

 

[box]

I went to see Azul & Cielo today. Not crazy crowd but parking along the street is 75% full.  Houses are beautiful but  couple of things I notice:

1) No more up to ceiling cabinets which is  definitely a step down. IP rep said they switched to new vendor from South Coast Cabinet
2) Some upstair doors are no longer 9 feet tall, only couple of main ones. They make the rooms feel little cramp.

Wonder why IP decided to go with these 2 design changes? Save cost for $2+ mil homes?

South Coast Cabinet botched the cabinet installs on the last few phases at Fresco Eastwood so badly that I'm not surprised if IP is ditching them moving forward.

That definitely sucks to not have consistent (tall) door heights throughout.

Curious what the ceiling height and door heights are at Azul and Cielo?

Downstairs: 10' ceiling --> 9' doors?
Upstairs: 9' ceiling --> 8' doors?

8' is the minimum door height to get that premium look and feel IMO.

I think at some of IP's other Portola Springs neighborhoods they had 9' ceilings with 7' doors, and the 7' doors just looked weird.

 

[irvinehomeowner]

They are equally, sameness BAD. I hope people stop buying so irvine company will improve in the future.

Don't hold your breath... I thought the same when they got rid of 3CWG, then formal dining, then 3CG (no more tandems) and then driveways.

That's the blessing and curse of Irvine, there will always be well-financed buyers but it just drives less for more.

 

[CalBears96]

I went to see Azul & Cielo today. Not crazy crowd but parking along the street is 75% full.  Houses are beautiful but  couple of things I notice:

1) No more up to ceiling cabinets which is  definitely a step down. IP rep said they switched to new vendor from South Coast Cabinet
2) Some upstair doors are no longer 9 feet tall, only couple of main ones. They make the rooms feel little cramp.

Wonder why IP decided to go with these 2 design changes? Save cost for $2+ mil homes?

South Coast Cabinet botched the cabinet installs on the last few phases at Fresco Eastwood so badly that I'm not surprised if IP is ditching them moving forward.

That definitely sucks to not have consistent (tall) door heights throughout.

Curious what the ceiling height and door heights are at Azul and Cielo?

10' ceiling downstairs --> 9' doors downstairs?
9' ceiling upstairs --> 8' doors upstairs?

8' is the minimum door height to get that premium look and feel IMO.

I think at some of IP's other Portola Springs neighborhoods they had 9' ceilings with 7' doors, and the 7' doors just looked weird.

As far as I can tell, it's 8.5' downstairs and 7' upstairs. This is from my Bluffs 2 home.

 

[Danimal]

I went to see Azul & Cielo today. Not crazy crowd but parking along the street is 75% full.  Houses are beautiful but  couple of things I notice:

1) No more up to ceiling cabinets which is  definitely a step down. IP rep said they switched to new vendor from South Coast Cabinet
2) Some upstair doors are no longer 9 feet tall, only couple of main ones. They make the rooms feel little cramp.

Wonder why IP decided to go with these 2 design changes? Save cost for $2+ mil homes?

South Coast Cabinet botched the cabinet installs on the last few phases at Fresco Eastwood so badly that I'm not surprised if IP is ditching them moving forward.

That definitely sucks to not have consistent (tall) door heights throughout.

Curious what the ceiling height and door heights are at Azul and Cielo?

10' ceiling downstairs --> 9' doors downstairs?
9' ceiling upstairs --> 8' doors upstairs?

8' is the minimum door height to get that premium look and feel IMO.

I think at some of IP's other Portola Springs neighborhoods they had 9' ceilings with 7' doors, and the 7' doors just looked weird.

As far as I can tell, it's 8.5' downstairs and 7' upstairs. This is from my Bluffs 2 home.

For Fresco 9 ft ceiling & 8 ft door for upstair & downstair.
I thought IP would use the same door for all their tracts.

 

[CalBears96]

I went to see Azul & Cielo today. Not crazy crowd but parking along the street is 75% full.  Houses are beautiful but  couple of things I notice:

1) No more up to ceiling cabinets which is  definitely a step down. IP rep said they switched to new vendor from South Coast Cabinet
2) Some upstair doors are no longer 9 feet tall, only couple of main ones. They make the rooms feel little cramp.

Wonder why IP decided to go with these 2 design changes? Save cost for $2+ mil homes?

South Coast Cabinet botched the cabinet installs on the last few phases at Fresco Eastwood so badly that I'm not surprised if IP is ditching them moving forward.

That definitely sucks to not have consistent (tall) door heights throughout.

Curious what the ceiling height and door heights are at Azul and Cielo?

10' ceiling downstairs --> 9' doors downstairs?
9' ceiling upstairs --> 8' doors upstairs?

8' is the minimum door height to get that premium look and feel IMO.

I think at some of IP's other Portola Springs neighborhoods they had 9' ceilings with 7' doors, and the 7' doors just looked weird.

As far as I can tell, it's 8.5' downstairs and 7' upstairs. This is from my Bluffs 2 home.

For Fresco 9 ft ceiling & 8 ft door for upstair & downstair.
I thought IP would use the same door for all their tracts.

For PS (Highland, Bluffs, and Hillside), it's 10' ceiling downstairs and 9' ceiling upstairs, so the doors downstairs are either 8' or 8.5', and upstairs is only 7'. I think I saw a smaller gap between the doors and ceiling downstairs.

I'm guessing that Azul and Cielo are following the PS tracts.

 

[box]

One small detail that is nice about Fresco is 8' doors throughout. But both upstairs and downstairs are "only" 9' ceilings.

PS is nice in that it has 10' ceilings downstairs, with 9' ceiling upstairs. I wish they had used 8' doors upstairs though.

I guess each community has its own advantages.

I wonder what OH Ravello has? I would be a little surprised if they had 7' doors upstairs.

 

[CalBears96]

One small detail that is nice about Fresco is 8' doors throughout. But both upstairs and downstairs are "only" 9' ceilings.

PS is nice in that it has 10' ceilings downstairs, with 9' ceiling upstairs. I wish they had used 8' doors upstairs though.

I guess each community has its own advantages.

I wonder what OH Ravello has? I would be a little surprised if they had 7' doors upstairs.

Yeah, it would be nice if upstairs doors were also 8'.  It's such a pain to get the step ladders past those 7' doors.

The 10' ceiling downstairs is great, but it was rough changing the recessed lighting. Even when I used the highest step (not recommended) on the ladder, I barely reached the ceiling. It was especially rough on the coffered ceiling in master bedroom, which is a bit higher than 10', where I barely touched the recessed lighting.