Looking At What's Driving Multifamily In Orange County
When it comes to multifamily and mixed-use projects in Orange County, the residential component seems to be the foundation of any successful project, though it helps to have retail with recognizable names to draw residents.
Those were among the topics discussed by our all-star panelists as part of Orange County’s Annual Multifamily and Mixed-Use Forum held at the end of last week at the Irvine Marriott Hotel.
The panel, moderated by Allen Matkins partner William Ahern, featured Trammell Crow Residential president of construction Tony Ditteaux, Walker & Dunlop VP Mark Grace, MVE + Partners principal Jeff Larsen, Wilshire Finance Partners SVP Brian Murphy and Shopoff Realty VP Brian Rupp.
More than 250 people gathered to hear them discuss the multifamily and mixed-use climate in Orange County.
Bill asked the panelists to talk about unique amenities they are seeing in mixed-use projects and current trends in multifamily projects.
Jeff said it can be “a little more challenging to find the larger projects” in Orange County since the bigger developments are happening in LA. One of the major amenities relates to retail space. He said it can be very beneficial to have a Trader Joe's location or a Starbucks in the building.
MVE + Partners focuses on amenities authentic to the location. As an example, Jeff pointed to Pacific City, a large mixed-use development in Huntington Beach that has a gear shop where surfers can store and work on their surfboards.
One thing Shopoff Realty looks at is how the company can "incorporate amenities in creative ways," Brian said. They're incorporating rooftop decks and creating spaces on parking structures, which "gives us a great amount of area that once was never utilized," according to Brian. Pickleball has also been incorporated on a property in Newport Beach.
Since "35% of our residents have dogs," Tony said Trammell Crow Residential regularly puts in dog washes that are used "all day, every day." They also put in dog parks and rooftop decks as well as "full outdoor kitchens," pizza ovens and televisions outdoors since residents enjoy spending time outside, according to Tony.
Mark talked about the financing of mixed-use projects. "Residential drives the bus" for a majority of Walker & Dunlop's projects, he said. With the "bulk of it being residential, you can kind of capture the best financing in the market."
Brian is based in Wilshire Finance Partners' LA office. He said the firm sees tech money coming into the coastal communities, including Playa Vista. It's driven up retail price points, but he said he's not sure prices can support what is happening in the coastal communities. Land values have risen dramatically, according to Brian.
