A new, very forward thinking apartment building is offering some unusual amenities.  Including an outdoor movie theater and a sizeable dog park.  Yes, really...  A super niche audience, but right on the money in my opinion.  It seems like over half the tenants I come in contact with have a dog and who doesn't like watching a movie outside?  Quality of life over size of living space and all the material crap you can cram into it is what many young professionals are seaking out.  Living in a socialable apartment like this makes it easier for workaholics to find the time to make new friends and have a life beyond their career and TV.  Now days your best friend can live 15-20 minutes away, but that's still too far of a drive to hangout on a Tuesday…

  Shown above is the developed City Place community and vacant lot along Lawson Way and Jeanette Lane that had originally been slatted for a high-rise tower.  When the market turned in 2008/2009 it likely killed this high-rise development, like many other towers in Orange County that were put on hold or changed up completely.     Only a handful of high-rise residential buildings ended up being developed and several landmark buildings like Skyline in Santa Ana and Asotoria in Irvine were converted into apartments due to dreadful sales as a result of the real estate bubble.     Above is a rendering of the City Place Skylofts by Ehrlich Architects     Above and below are renderings of the very…

Mixed Use, Orange County and Amtrak... Not a typical combination here in Orange County, but what an exciting project to hope for! The Laguna Niguel Gateway Specific Plan was formed to responsibly guide attractive and exciting new development opportunities for the approximately 315-acre Gateway area, located along the Interstate 5 Freeway and the 73 Toll Road, in the City of Laguna Niguel. With access to one of VERY few Amtrak Stations to boot, it's a project I'm really hoping succeeds! As a South County Native myself, spending the 1st 23 years of my life in Mission Viejo and Aliso Viejo, I definitely longed for walkable, downtown type communities. Why I know live in and do most of my business in North County.   Existing Satellite View…

Guided Tour and Open House Saturday, October 22nd, from 10am to 12pm
Tour a LEED for Homes registeredcustom home in Newport Beach while it’s still under construction with exposed studs. Builder John Steed of Maverick Home Builders, Project Manager Laura Sanders of Jeannette Architects in Long Beach, Interior Designer Rachel Hulan of Path Design, Consultant Evan Little of Permaculture Properties and other design team members as well as USGBC-OC volunteers will be on hand to answer questions and lead two scheduled tours through this cutting edge home. Targeted certification level is Platinum. Targeted certification level is Platinum. Light refreshments will be served.
10:15am – 1st guided tour begins 11:15am – 2nd guided tour…

There's not much of it, but there's a growing demographic that are hopeful that more Orange County Cities will start embracing smart, infill growth as soon as possible. Currently, all of the Orange County Cities that I'm aware of have unrealistic density restrictions and ESPECIALLY parking restrictions. I'm hopeful that I see a lot of city staff at BIA-OC's upcoming event shown below!     I've been fortunate to work with developers who have a lot of experience in how a city can evolve into a more walkable city with greater connectivity and prosperity. It's uncomfortable for a city to go from sprawling tract homes and strip centers that require a car to get to any basic service to a walkable, well connected community where someone can live…

  After 347 long days on the market Westminster's 1st LEED Certified home has been purchased for $529,000. Original list price was $764,218. It's 2,410sq' of living space with 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. In Orange County, green homes have struggled to gain any significant market share or be taken seriously by the County's major players in the building world. Other than Olson Homes of Seal Beach & it's rival offshoot, City Ventures, there has only been a handful of small speculative builders that have braved green building in resource devouring Orange County. Currently, there are less than 100 LEED Certified homes in Orange County with the majority of them being done by Olson Homes in tracts of around 30 units or one offs here and there by smaller…

AEF Consulting, Engineering & Construction, Inc. is holding an open house next month at one of their latest projects, the renovation of a 1,700sq' warehouse and LEED-CI Certification located in Anaheim, CA. See details below or download flyer.     Moe Fakith of AEF, a Former Chair and heavy supporter of the USGBC-OC Chapter and it's Existing Buildings, Operations & Maintenance (EBOM) Committee, among others who took part in the design and construction will be present to share and exchange ideas over wine and hors d'oeuvres.   Mark and Moe of AEF Consulting, Engineering & Construction Inc.   During renovation   Finished hallway   Finished conference room   New skylight for…

Located on the Newport Beach Peninsula in sunny Orange County, this is the first installation of a Living Homes modular home in the county. The 1st LEED Platinum Certified home in the city of Newport Beach, I believe, and it was actually moved a total of three times since it's construction at a modular home factory. This particular home was used at two different expo type events in Las Vegas and again in Long Beach before finally being relocated to it's new home on along the sandy beaches of Newport. Each move entailed minor deconstruction of the home into it's original modular units and then reassembled in it's new location. I had the chance to walk the home shortly after it's new owners had settled in and it wasn't clear where the home had been broken…

Founded on the Buddhist principles of peace, human rights and the sanctity of life. Soka University of America's interdisciplinary curriculum is non sectarian and open to students of all nationalities and beliefs. While doing hard time at Mission Viejo High School our architecture class toured the campus while it was under construction just before the University's students began to hit the books. I remember being blown away that Ethernet cables were being run to underneath the concrete stair risers for students to plug into out in the middle of campus so they could study and enjoy some incredible Orange County weather. Surprisingly, Soka is the 1st new University in California in the last 25 years so it's no surprise that it's an early adopter of the U.S.…

Finally an Orange County track home builder that was smart enough to jump on Build it Green's very affordable and robust GreenPoint Rated certification program. Unfortunately, if it wasn't for the one 2' by 3' display inside VanDaele Homes Sevilla showroom office that proudly represents Build it Green, you'd NEVER know this new home tract is participating in any sort of green building program.

 

Unfortunately I found the 3 model homes that just celebrated their grand opening last Saturday, January 22nd, to be very disappointing in regards to green design and materials. I understand there is a financial danger in stepping too far off the conventional home builder path and go green... BELIEVE ME I have seen some builders do this in a big way! but most

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