Irvine Co. Continues Work On Fashion Island

Leading Orange County developer The Irvine Company continues to invest in Newport Beach’s Fashion Island, announcing plans of renovating the movie theaters and buying up an office complex currently occupied by investment firm Pimco.

Island Cinemas, a seven-screen complex owned by the Irvine Co., will be closed starting January 12 for about a year of renovations and upgrades. Plans include state-of-the-art theaters with large, stadium-style seats and a wide lobby that matches the rest of the local architecture. The cinemas are expected to reopen in time for the 2011 holidays.

The project will be the cinemas’ first renovation since they opened in 1989, says Keith Eyrich, retail chief for the Irvine Co. The company promises local moviegoers a different experience that’s unique in Orange County, he added.

The move follows a recent upgrade of the shopping center, which included a Nordstrom outlet, additional parking, new landscaping, and outdoor fountains. The project cost the company some $100 million, plus an additional $10 million on the renovation of some ocean-view office buildings in the area.

Eyrich says that investing in Fashion Island has so far proven to be lucrative. Same-store sales, a main indicator of success in the retail industry, have risen to double-digit gains in 2010 after previous makeovers/

The Irvine Co. is also planning to purchase the 279,000-square foot complex Pacific Financial Plaza, composed of two 7-story office towers and one 2-story multipurpose building, currently owned by the California State Teachers’ Retirement group.

Irvine Co. chair Doug Holte said the company took advantage of the opportunity to buy up the only major complex it did not own in Fashion Island’s northern circle. The recent investment moves, he says, is a sign that the company is optimistic about its economic recovery.

 

Earlier in Newport Beach Real Estate News:
Newport Wins Award for Best Beaches
Newport Beach Home On Private Island Hits Market for $28 Million
Old Newport Beach Building To Be Transformed