Newport Center

Noaki Schwartz NEWPORT BEACH -- Ballots for this fall's slow-growth measure are not even printed yet and already it's affecting the city's menu of developments. On Thursday, the county's largest developer, the Irvine Co., canceled its plans to expand Newport Center. Executive Vice President Gary H. Hunt, in a Jan. 27 letter written to the City Council, wrote that the measure added too much uncertainty to an already time-consuming and expensive city planning process.

Noaki Schwartz NEWPORT BEACH -- Apparently following the lead of the Irvine Co., one of the three remaining property owners with a development proposal for Newport Center has pulled out. In a surprising move last Thursday, Executive Vice President Gary H. Hunt withdrew the Irvine Co.'s plans to expand Newport Center. Hunt wrote in a letter to the mayor that the so-called Greenlight initiative added too much uncertainty to an already time-consuming and expensive city planning process.

they need If you build it, they will come. The recent completion of the Irvine Co. development Corona del Mar Plaza (at the southeast corner of E. Coast Highway and MacArthur Boulevard) and nearby low-rise office buildings provide a taste of things to come if the Irvine Co. further increases the density of already overdeveloped Newport Center. Nearby San Miguel Drive was improved between Avocado Avenue and MacArthur and was close to obsolete on the day of completion.

Newport Beach officials are in talks to buy a seven-acre parcel on East Coast Highway that could become home to a new city hall. The property at 1602 E. Coast Highway in Newport Center is now occupied by the Balboa Bay Club's tennis club, but the club's lease is set to expire soon, said Newport Beach City Councilman Tod Ridgeway, who chairs the council's building committee. "It is a piece that we're looking at for a possible city hall site," Councilman Ed Selich said. "We're appraising the property, and we've had discussions with the property owners, and some are interested in selling and some are less interested in selling, so we're trying to find out what its value is before we move in any direction on it."

The Irvine Co. will give the city of Newport Beach $27 million to build a new city hall wherever it wants as part of a proposed new development agreement unveiled Tuesday night at a joint special City Council and Planning Commission session. “Some things could stay the same or could change, but we’re about 80 to 90% there,” said Mayor Steve Rosansky, who helped negotiate the deal along with Councilman Ed Selich. Designed to make the mostly Irvine Co.-owned Newport Center the cultural, civic and financial center of the community, the plan is bound to make the public debate more interesting over a February ballot measure that would require Newport Beach’s city hall to be built next to the city’s central library.

PaineWebber will soon occupy half of a new four-story Irvine Co. building on San Clemente at Newport Center. The building is being constructed next to the Orange County Museum of Art. "Newport Center is like the Wall Street of Orange County," said vice president Don Dalis of PaineWebber, adding that this was the reason for the expanded Newport Beach division. The company will join an already thriving financial center. Newport Center houses 64 financial firms, 18 accounting firms, 14 corporate headquarters, 14 stock and bond brokerages and 13 insurance offices.

Lisa Reedy The opening of the Shops at Mission Viejo is a cause for celebration for South County cities and their residents. Until now, the residents of South County had to drive north to Fashion Island or South Coast Plaza in search of first-class shopping. For years, Newport Beach and its neighbor to the north, both of which derive huge amounts of sales tax revenue from their respective malls, benefited from South County's lack of a competitive shopping center.

It may surprise you to see our names on the same opinion piece. In fact, over the years, although we have held a healthy respect for one another, we have rarely seen eye-to-eye on key issues. Until now. The recently proposed Newport Center mixed-use plan and development agreement presented by The Irvine Co. to the community, City Council and Planning Commission achieves many key goals that will benefit our entire city:  Continues the renaissance of Newport Center and provides the opportunities it needs to remain the economic engine of Newport Beach;  Provides $27 million of non-taxpayer money to build a new City Hall, regardless of final location, including keeping it at its current location on the Peninsula.

A Newport Beach environmental group on Friday sued Newport Beach and the City Council to challenge a multimillion dollar development agreement with the Irvine Co., court records show. Newport Beach City Atty. Robin Clauson said she received a phone call Friday from the founder of the nonprofit group Defend the Bay Bob Caustin about the lawsuit, but she had received no more information on the legal action. “I haven’t seen the lawsuit. I don’t know what they’re alleging is wrong,” Clauson said.

An Orange County Superior Court Judge on Friday threw out the last of Newport Beach activist Allan Beek’s challenges to the new City Hall in Newport Center. “We win some and we lose some, I just wish I could win some,” Beek said. “I wasn’t really expecting much of this one.” In his lawsuit, Beek claimed that Newport Beach had to hold a special election under the city’s Greenlight Initiative to build its next city hall on 12 acres in Newport Center.

The Newport Aquatic Center men's lightweight four-plus coxswain crew advanced to the USRowing National Youth Championship with a second-place finish over the weekend at the Southwest District Junior Championship Regatta. Rowers Chase Roosin, Colin Johnson, Brandon Metzger, Jacob Studer and coxswain Jono Keedy covered the 2000-meter course in 6 minutes, 45:30 seconds, trailing only the boat from the Northern California crew club out of Menlo Park. The national championships will be held June 9 and 10 in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

A construction worker fell about 30 feet at the Newport Beach Civic Center site on Tuesday, authorities said. The incident was reported about 11:26 a.m. at the construction site in the 1100 block of Avocado Avenue, said Newport Beach Fire Department spokeswoman Jennifer Schulz. Schulz said the man was taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana and was in stable condition. Cal/OSHA was notified about the incident. Further information about the worker's identity was not made available.

The Ritz Restaurant, an institution for more than 30 years, will have to leave its Newport Center location because the Irvine Co. declined to renew its lease. The lease expires January 2013. Perhaps the most formal and traditional restaurant in Newport, The Ritz caters to longtime residents who can find its tucked-away spot at the base of an office plaza. The Irvine Co., which will be trying to fill some adjacent office space, is looking for more modern tenants. "We celebrate the role The Ritz has played in Newport Beach," Irvine Co. spokeswoman Erin Freeman wrote in a statement.

The 2011 OC Marathon course will not use Back Bay Drive in order to protect endangered birds that live there, a race spokesman said Tuesday. Marathon organizers have eliminated the road that hugs the eastern shore of Upper Newport Bay in response to concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Fish and Game about the welfare of endangered species of birds that inhabit the area. These include the light-footed clapper rail and the California gnatcatcher. "There were concerns that introducing 10,000 or 12,000 people into the environment would not be a good thing for the birds," said Race Director Gary Kutscher.

NEWPORT BEACH — Many can picture the view from the top floor of the Central Library here — the Pacific in the distance, palm trees swaying in the breeze and sun streaming through the windows. With its new Civic Center under construction next door, the city's hoping to take advantage of those natural elements. Officials say measures like designing the buildings to receive natural light will lessen the city's impact on the environment and will save the city money in the long run by reducing energy use. They hope these green efforts combined will qualify the Civic Center for a LEED Silver or Gold status — awards conferred by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Jamie Darling figured rowing was in her plans. Mom and dad rowed in college and her sister rows. When Darling began the fall season with the Newport Aquatic Center, she started as a novice. Family encouraged her to stick with the sport until she improved and gained experience. The first year turned out to be a life-changing experience for Darling. "[Rowing] is physically demanding," said Darling, a Newport Harbor High freshman. "I had to be organized. I was physically tired and then I had homework.

Jamie Darling figured rowing was in her plans. Mom and dad rowed in college and her sister rows. When Darling began the fall season with the Newport Aquatic Center, she started as a novice. Family encouraged her to stick with the sport until she improved and gained experience. The first year turned out to be a life-changing experience for Darling. "[Rowing] is physically demanding," said Darling, a Newport Harbor High freshman. "I had to be organized. I was physically tired and then I had homework.

The passing of Albert Auer on June 6 leaves a great void in the heart of Newport Beach. It was Al, who during his 13 years as vice president of the Commercial Division of Irvine Co., brought Newport Center — perhaps Orange County's premier office, retail, hotel, cinema, restaurant, medical and financial complex — to life. Al, with his quick smile and warm handshake, loved the Newport Center he created — and the tenants of Irvine Co. buildings and the owners of the other buildings loved Al. And Al, with his open demeanor and honest relationships, cherished the Fashion Island he created — and the merchants loved Al. Indelibly placing his mark on Newport Beach, Al served on the board of directors of Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian for 31 years, and was chairman of the board for many years during Hoag's transformation from a community hospital to a regional medical center.

One by one, the highly motivated students in academics and extra-curricular activities received recognition Tuesday as part of the 49th annual Scholarship Awards Breakfast sponsored by the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce at the Island Hotel. After nearly four years of endless hard work — and endless homework — at Newport Harbor and Corona del Mar high schools, 31 students received their few minutes of scholastic fame. Proud parents cheered them on. Proud principals shook their hands.