The Government Solutions, Inc. team delivered a dynamic presentation on the entitlement process at the Paul Merage School of business, University California Irvine. Coralee Newman shared wisdom from her 30 years of experience within the Real Estate industry as she reviewed 6 GSI milestone client victories.
Government Solutions Founding Principal Coralee S. Newman spoke to the highlights of our entitlement work on the Uptown Newport project during the Lambda Alpha International Land Economics Weekend. Members from across the country attended the weekend-long event touring the multitude of landmark projects across Orange County. Ms. Newman discussed elements of the Newport Beach community along with the specific accomplishments reached through processing this groundbreaking redevelopment project located in the Airport Area.
Another Government Solutions, Inc. success story has turned to reality with the recently completed VUE Newport (formerly Newport Bay Marina). GSI began leading entitlement and government relations outreach in 2005. Our firm's effort was key in securing Newport Beach City Council project approval in 2007, and California Coastal Commission project and mitigation approval in 2009.
Nestled in an idyllic spot on the bay in Newport Beach, VUE is an intimate enclave of just 27 villa-style homes featuring classic, contemporary architecture, exclusive concierge services and a walkable carefree lifestyle. So kick off your shoes and relax. You’ve found a better way to live bayfront. WWW.VUENEWPORT.COM
LOS ANGELES, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Celebrating 20 years, JVS Strictly Business L.A. will bring together more than 500 business and community leaders to honor Belmont Village Senior Living and AvalonBay Communities for their exemplary support of the JVS mission and the organization's HealthWorks® and ApartmentWorks® career training programs. These companies are being recognized for their significant and impactful contributions in lifting people from poverty to employment by both sponsoring JVS training programs and hiring their graduates. In addition, the inaugural Founder's Award will be presented to JVS Honorary Vice President Steven Hirsh. The event takes place on Wednesday, June 7, 2017 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, with award-winning NBC4 weathercaster Fritz Coleman returning to serve as master of ceremonies.
JVS Strictly Business LA Honors Patricia G. Will, Belmont Village Senior Living Founder and CEO on June 7, 2017 at The Beverly Hilton
On June 7, 2017, John Smith, Senior Portfolio Maintenance Director, will accept the JVS Corporate Partnership Award on behalf of AvalonBay Communities at Strictly Business L.A.
This year's program will include remarks by JVS Corporate Leadership Award Honoree, Patricia G. Will, Belmont Village Founder and CEO. John Smith, Senior Portfolio Maintenance Director, will accept the JVS Corporate Partnership Award on behalf of AvalonBay Communities. All proceeds from Strictly Business benefit the life-changing work of JVS Los Angeles, a nonprofit, non-sectarian agency dedicated to empowering people to overcome barriers and achieve sustainable employment.
With these committed partnerships from the private sector, JVS is able to leverage the funding received from the city, county and state to offer these successful training programs at no cost to participants, who are primarily of low income and from traditionally underserved communities. "JVS has been an extraordinary partner not only in making sure that we have training in the heart of the city but also looking at how we can improve workforce development," affirms L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Belmont Village Senior Living is the first health care industry employer to partner with HealthWorks®, a program that trains individuals for entry level careers as Certified Nurse Assistants. "Over the next 10 years the seniors housing industry will need to fill more than one million jobs. The JVS HealthWorks® program is a model for how to get that done," comments Will. "We are proud to be a participant in its success, both as a sponsor and as an employer. We've hired many outstanding program graduates who have become highly valued members of our Belmont Village teams and we look forward to welcoming many more graduates in the future." Founded by Will in 1997, Belmont Village is a fully integrated developer, owner and operator of first rate senior living communities. The company currently operates 24 communities across the country, with five new properties under development and nearly 3,000 employees. Patricia Will is a nationally recognized leader in senior living. She serves on the boards of numerous academic and charitable institutions and has played an integral role in setting standards and shaping policy for the industry.
Recipient of the JVS Corporate Partnership Award, AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has been involved with ApartmentWorks®, a nationally recognized job training program for apartment maintenance technicians, since its inception. "It is especially meaningful for AvalonBay to be a supporter and partner of JVS ApartmentWorks® program, not only because we have hired so many skilled and highly motivated graduates over the years, but also because this is the only training initiative of its kind in our industry," explains Smith. "We know the need for dedicated staff will continue to grow." AvalonBay has a long-term track record of developing, redeveloping, acquiring and managing distinctive apartment homes in some of the best markets across the United States. Driven by a bold purpose to create a better way to live, AvalonBay is committed to giving back and contributing to the vitality of local communities.
In recognition of his leadership, JVS Honorary Vice President Steven Hirsh will receive the Founder's Award for his vision as the first chair of Strictly Business L.A. and his commitment to introduce and engage the business community in the critical mission of JVS.
The Strictly Business L.A. Awards Luncheon takes place on Wednesday, June 7. Business Networking Reception begins at 11am, followed by the luncheon program from Noon to 1:30pm at The Beverly Hilton at 9876 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills 90210. Hosted parking. Tickets are $175 per person. To register online, go to: http://www.jvsla.org/sb-2017. For ticket and sponsorship information, contact Mary Koenig at 157216@email4pr.com or (323) 761-8888 x8891.
ABOUT JVS
JVS Los Angeles is a non-sectarian 501(c)(3) founded in 1931 to address workplace discrimination and assist those struggling in the midst of the Great Depression. JVS Los Angeles offers hope and opportunity to our diverse community, helping people overcome barriers to achieve self-sufficiency through sustainable employment. www.jvsla.org
Concordia University Irvine plans to invest $200 million toward renovating and building out its campus atop a hill. (File photo by Tomoya Shimura, Orange County Register/SCNG)
IRVINE — Concordia University Irvine’s $200 million plan to renovate its campus received the green light after university officials made promises to minimize the impact of the project for nearby residents.
The City Council on Tuesday, May 9, voted 4-0 to approve Concordia’s update to its campus build-out plan with conditions that the university work to appease residents concerned about traffic congestion and other issues. Mayor Don Wagner recused himself because his law firm represents Concordia on the matter.
If Concordia violates the agreement, the city has “a whole palette of remedies,” City Attorney Jeff Melching said, such as seeking misdemeanor charges, imposing fines and suing the university.
“It was a hard-won agreement,” Mayor Pro Tem Lynn Schott said. “I think we do have the teeth that the community’s looking for.”
Proposed major facilities on the 70-acre campus include a new music and worship center, a new science and nursing building and athletic field lighting. Concordia officials say the improvements will help the private Lutheran university attract quality students and faculty.
Concordia University Irvine plans to make a $200 million renovations to its campus, including a new Music, Worship & Theology Building shown in the image. (Image courtesy of Concordia University Irvine)
“We are very pleased with the result,” said Ronald Van Blarcom, Concordia’s general counsel and vice president. “We worked very hard with the residents, with the city staff, with the council’s oversight. … I think we’ve all come together and that’s great.”
The university will demolish and replace several buildings. When fully built, the campus will have 321,220 square feet of building space and 330 dorm rooms, compared to the current 243,571 square feet and 256 dorm rooms.
The first of the four-phase project – including the Music, Worship & Theology Building, road improvements, parking lot expansion and NCAA-approved lighting – could break ground this summer, Van Blarcom said.
Concordia’s proposal has revealed the rocky relationships between the university and its surrounding communities, which stems partly from the unique location of the campus.
In the 1990s, Concordia sold parts of its land on a hill to pay off debt. Thus the campus is wedged between two housing developments, Concordia East and Concordia West, located within the university’s gates.
Residents of Concordia East and West said the renovations would bring more people and special events, causing traffic, noise, lights and other issues.
Also, residents of the Turtle Rock community said the project would add traffic to an already congested area.
In an effort to find the middle ground, Concordia has eliminated some features, such as an aquatics center with an eight-lane Olympic pool and a three-story parking structure, from its original plan. The university will also limit the number of non-university events on campus.
In addition, Concordia committed to seek separate city approval for phases 3 and 4, to not add any traffic during the first two phases, to conduct an independent traffic count, fund necessary future traffic improvements and to limit the number of athletic lighting poles to 15. The university will also meet with Concordia East and West representatives to discuss construction management plans.
The whole project is expected to take 20 to 30 years to complete, Van Blarcom said.
A rendering depicts the Uptown Newport project along Jamboree Road near John Wayne Airport. The development is planned to have about 1,250 residential units, 10,700 square feet of retail space and two 1-acre parks. (Courtesy city of Newport Beach)
The developers of the Uptown Newport residential and commercial project are shuffling the location of the retail component.
The main reason for the change is the cost of the parking garage, which is planned to go beneath the building facing the development's entrance along Jamboree Road to support commercial uses, according to a report prepared for Thursday's meeting of the Newport Beach Planning Commission. A third subterranean parking level would "jeopardize project finances," developer Shopoff Realty Investments told the city.
The commission approved the move, which will break up 10,700 square feet of retail space from its original placement along the Jamboree frontage to pockets along the westerly and central parts of the complex, largely in the interior of the development. The space that would have housed commercial suites will be filled by seven additional apartments.
The commercial space will still be developed during the first phase of construction, which is underway.
Uptown Newport is planned to have about 1,250 residential units — including 92 designated as affordable housing — plus shop space and two 1-acre parks. The Newport Beach City Council approved the project in 2013.
The site is in an industrial part of town near John Wayne Airport. Irvine-based Shopoff plans to transform Uptown Newport's 25 acres into a livelier, denser urban district.
The second phase of building is scheduled to begin in 2022 or 2027, depending on when current tenant Jazz Semiconductor ends its lease.
IRVINE – Concordia University Irvine’s $200 million plan to renovate its campus took a big step forward.
The Irvine Planning Commission on Thursday, March 16, voted unanimously in favor of allowing Concordia to update its master plan, featuring a new music and worship center, a new science and nursing building, athletic field lighting and more.
Steve Mueller, dean of Christ College at Concordia, said his department works out of a building that used to be his dorm when he was a student there more than 30 years ago. The new worship center would provide his faculty with offices that are built to be offices, as well as state-of-the-art classrooms and collaborative space for students and teachers, he said.
“It’s a wonderful way to put us in the future ahead,” Mueller said.
The four-phase project will go to the City Council for final approval, though a date hasn’t been set yet.
The last time Concordia added a building, Grimm Hall, was 10 years ago, said Ronald Van Blarcom, Concordia’s general counsel and vice president. The improvements to the campus will help the private Lutheran university attract quality students and faculty, he said.
However, the required Planning Commission approval didn’t come easy, revealing the rocky relationships between the 40-year-old university and the surrounding communities.
During the five-hour hearing and discussion, residents voiced their concerns about the project’s impacts, especially on traffic. Hundreds of people supporting and opposing the project packed the City Council chamber.
One of the main issues of contention was a proposed traffic light at the Concordia and Ridgeline Drive intersection, one of the two entrances to the campus. Nearby Turtle Rock residents said the light, intended to help cars from the campus get on Ridgeline Drive, would cause delays for those driving on the thoroughfare to Interstate 405.
The Planning Commission removed the traffic light from the plan, for now, so the city’s newly formed Transportation Commission can review it.
Also, residents of Concordia East and Concordia West, located within the university’s gates, said they worried the renovations would bring more people and special events, causing traffic, noise, lights and other issues on the 70-acre campus.
The two communities were built in the 1990s after Concordia sold parts of its land on a hill overlooking Orange County to pay off debt.
The university and homeowners began discussing the project in 2013 and reached an agreement over the week leading up to Thursday’s meeting.
Concordia has eliminated some features, such as an aquatics center with an eight-lane Olympic pool and a three-story parking structure, from its original plan. The university will also limit the number of non-university events on campus.
“I think it’s a step in the right direction,” said Cristina Thomas, a board member of the Concordia West homeowners association. “Now I think we’ve got a good agreement moving forward.”
The university will demolish and replace several buildings. When fully built, the campus will have 321,220 square feet of building space and 330 dorm rooms, compared to the current 243,571 square feet and 256 dorm rooms.
The number of undergraduate students on campus is expected to grow from 1,600 this academic year to 1,800 by 2035, according to Concordia’s projection. Most of the graduate students take courses online or at satellite classrooms, Van Blarcom said.
The first phase of the project – including the Music, Worship & Theology Building, road improvements, parking lot expansion and NCAA-approved lighting – could break ground in May pending City Council approval, Van Blarcom said.
It’s expected to take 20 to 30 years to complete the whole project, he said.
