Four acres of land in North Irvine will soon help the city achieve its affordable housing goals.
Irvine’s City Council voted unanimously to accept the land from Irvine Company at a meeting late last year. It will ultimately be transferred to the Irvine Community Land Trust, a nonprofit trust created by the city to develop a full spectrum of housing.
The City and Land Trust are expected to begin planning the site in the coming months.
“Just think about all the highly skilled professionals we have here in Irvine,” says Irvine Community Land Trust Executive Director Mark Asturias. “These are nurses, health care workers, teachers and recent graduates – maybe engineers – who are just starting their careers.”
“We’re proud we can offer them housing and help them thrive here in Irvine.”
The 4-acre site is comparable to the recently opened Sage Park community in Portola Springs. That community is reserved for middle-income residents and families and includes townhomes that started in the $400,000 range. Long-term planning in the area has also helped create communities like Alegre and Salerno, which, along with Sage Park, have combined to create more than 250 apartments and townhomes for Irvine’s workforce.
Irvine has been commended for having a plan to provide more housing for all income levels. Many of these communities offer amenities such as parks, pools and recreation centers.
“I don’t think there are enough words to explain my gratitude and my thankfulness and the peace that my kids and I now have,” Yesica Valle, who moved into the Salerno community in 2021, told the Orange County Register.
