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70 homes planned for Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre site

June 28, 2023

Map of Los Olivos housing district in Irvine. (Courtesy: Irvine Co.)

Will new homes in Irvine be music to house hunters’ ears?

Irvine Co. is seeking city approval to build 70 homes on a 17.5-acre site that once was home to the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre.

Yes, it’s a tiny home project by any measurement, but it’s being built atop a local landmark – the former site of one of the county’s top spots for outdoor music.

The land sits in the city’s southeastern corner near the Irvine Spectrum shopping center. The plan is a spin on the developer’s previous deal with Irvine to build 4,536 apartments in several areas. Part of that arrangement calls for Irvine Co. to build 600 apartments near the amphitheater site. This is development that nudges Irvine toward its state-approved goal of adding 23,600 homes by the end of this decade.

Now, if your Orange County history is foggy, we’re talking about the old Irvine Meadows entertainment venue that closed in 2016 after its 35-year lease with Irvine Co. expired. It was a place that hosted everything from pop stars to the symphony to country legends to new bands on the rise. The amphitheatre’s farewell concerts featured local rock star Gwen Stefani.

And outdoor music remains in Irvine, it just moved down the street. Acts now perform at the temporary FivePoint Amphitheatre, which opened in 2017 at the Great Park. The city is trying to find a permanent home for entertainment under the stars.

Gwen Stefani takes the stage for the final concert at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre in Irvine on Sunday, Oct. 30, 2016. The amphitheater closed after 35 years of entertaining Orange County. Irvine Co. is seeking city approval to build 70 homes on the 17.5-acre site. (File photo by Ana Venegas, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Yet the tale of old Irvine Meadows isn’t just a musical one.

It was located in a place with an intriguing business history. This slice of the old Irvine Ranch, nearly a square mile in size, was once a curious sort of amusement district that has morphed into a community that may one day hold 4,400-plus housing units.

This land housed the amphitheater, that debuted in 1981. It once housed the Lion Country Safari animal park, which closed in 1984. It was also home to Wild Rivers water park, which shut in 2011, and reopened at Irvine’s Great Park last summer.

During the past decade, Irvine Co. has turned much of this property into the 1,700-unit Los Olivos low-rise apartment complex, the 1,700-unit Promenade mid-rise apartment complex, and 169 single-family houses in the Barcelona community.

The latest plans would see 70 homes for ownership created on the actual amphitheater space. The new construction could mirror Barcelona – modest, detached housing targeting young adults seeking to own a piece of Irvine.

Then across San Diego Creek from the new homes, the Promenade complex would get 600 more rental units, including roughly 100 with rents affordable to low-income residents.

So what’s next for the plans? Meandering through the city approval process means an approval will stretch well into 2024.

PS: It’d be cool if Irvine Co. put a musical spin on the 70-home project’s monicker and/or street names as a tip of the cap to its entertainment heritage. You know, like Woodwind Way or Staccato Street. How about Chorus Court or Lyrical Lane? Or Rock and Road?

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at [email protected]

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