Irvine Company Headquarters in Newport Center |
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| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Real estate Community development Property investment Urban planning Urban design |
| Founded | 1864 |
| Headquarters | Newport Beach, California, United States of America |
| Number of locations | Orange County, San Diego County, Silicon Valley, Westside |
| Area served | California |
| Key people | James Irvine (Founder) Donald Bren (Chairman) |
| Website | www.irvinecompany.com |
The Irvine Company is a privately held real estate development company based in Newport Beach, Orange County, Southern California. The corporate center of the company lies in Newport Center. A large portion of its operations are centered in and around the City of Irvine, a planned city of 250,000 people mainly designed by the Irvine Company. It was created by the Irvine family and is currently wholly owned by Donald Bren.
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The Irvine Company grew from the premise of a 185-square-mile (480 km2) ranch founded by James Irvine I,[1] Benjamin and Thomas Flint, and Llewellyn Bixby in 1864 from three adjoining Mexican land grants. Irvine and his partners began by purchasing the Rancho San Joaquin, which constitutes the coastal half of the present-day ranch, from Jose Antonio Sepulveda. A drought that killed his livestock forced Sepulveda to sell his ranch in 1864. The partners purchased Rancho Lomas de Santiago—largely unfarmable due to its steep, hilly terrain—in 1866 from William Wolfskill, who had used it largely as a sheep ranch. Flint, Bixby and Irvine were among the claimants of a title lawsuit that divided Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana in 1868.
In 1894, Irvine's son, James Irvine II, incorporated the land holdings as the Irvine Company.
In 1953, the National Scout Jamboree was held on Irvine Ranch land in the area of what is now Fashion Island Shopping Center. Jamboree Road, running from Newport Beach to Orange, was built to allow people to travel to the jamboree from nearby train stations.
In 1959 the Irvine Company donated 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) and sold 500 acres (2.0 km2) near Newport Beach to the University of California for construction of a new UC campus (map). The university and company together designed the Irvine Ranch Master Plan for developing the surrounding area. The city of Irvine, whose citizens officially incorporated it in 1971, grew around the campus.
In 1977, real estate developer Donald Bren began buying Irvine Company shares from the Irvine family. By 1983, he was the majority owner of the Irvine Company. By 1996, he had purchased all outstanding shares to be the sole owner of the company.
The Irvine Company develops suburban master-planned communities throughout central and southern Orange County, in addition to residential buildings in Santa Monica, Silicon Valley, and San Diego.[2] The company also owns and manages office buildings in Milpitas, San Jose, Sunnyvale, Downtown San Diego, Mission Valley, San Diego, La Jolla Village/University City, Sorrento Mesa, Del Mar Heights, Newport Center, UCI locations, and West Los Angeles.[3] Donald Bren is its Chairman and sole shareholder.
The 94,000-acre (380 km2) Irvine Ranch remains the core holding of The Irvine Company. Of the total ranch area, 44,000 acres (180 km2) is retained for development whilst the remainder are preserved as wilderness and recreational preserves. The Ranch encompasses almost one fifth of Orange County, from the Pacific Ocean and Newport Harbor, Laguna Beach, and Santa Ana Canyon, to the boundary of the Cleveland National Forest.
A partial list of cities within the boundaries of the Irvine Ranch includes:
The Irvine Company also owns several commercial areas, such as The Market Place, Fashion Island - which Newport Beach's Newport Center district surrounds - and the Irvine Spectrum Center.