More outdoor amenities in works for LBA Realty’s Park Place campus

LBA Reworks 2.2M SF At Mixed-Use Campus

LBA Realty is planning another investment for its Park Place mixed-use complex in Irvine, this time with plans that will put new meaning behind the name of the campus.

The Irvine-based landlord and developer is converting an underutilized outdoor space at the 2.2 million-square-foot complex it runs into a 3-acre urban park that will include sporting courts, an amphitheater, walking trails and an edible garden, among other features.

“This beautiful urban outdoor space will put the ‘park’ in Park Place,” said Eric Brown, senior vice president of LBA Realty, in a statement. “Its wide spectrum of amenities from recreational activities to quiet contemplation to business meetings will add a new dimension to Orange County’s admired outdoors lifestyle.”

The company did not disclose a development cost for the forthcoming park, located in the center of the mixed-use campus along the San Diego (405) Freeway at Jamboree Road. Park Place holds an assortment of offices, retail, apartments, condos, a hotel and a flagship LA Fitness gym.

Sustainable Park

Architect Gensler and landscape architect Spurlock will design the project with sustainability at the forefront by emphasizing native plants, developing irrigation systems using reclaimed water and integrating U.S. Green Building Council LEED standards, officials said.

The park will include a 4,000square-foot sport court with pickle ball and basketball courts; outdoor seating areas and kitchen; a 200-person amphitheater; a deck for fitness classes; an edible garden; and a game lawn.

The park is expected to open in 2022 as the office portion of the campus welcomes a notable tenant, Panasonic Avionics.

The maker of in-flight entertainment systems for airlines is in the process of relocating its corporate headquarters from Lake Forest to Park Place, where it will occupy 260,000 square feet across several buildings.

Pandemic Planning

The park was in part inspired by a demand for increased outdoor collaboration space following the pandemic.

LBA Realty is also reimagining a vacant retail space at Park Place with COVID-19 concerns in mind.

The company said early this year that it has switched gears on plans for the former spot of the Sport Chalet which fronts Jamboree Road. At one point, the vacant site was expected to hold a luxury movie theater. The landlord pivoted, and instead is building a 40,000-square-foot creative office space that will include 5,000 square feet of food and beverage uses.

Construction is expected to be completed in the third quarter. ■