A proposed development which could bring new housing and commercial space to a large property just east of the 5 Freeway is up for a key test: the Santa Ana Planning Commission.

Rendering of the Cabrillo Town Center developmentAO

Later today, the Commission is scheduled to review a proposal from Fairfield Residential which calls for nine acres of surface parking and commercial buildings at 1901 E. 4th Street with a new mixed-use project. The proposed development, named Cabrillo Town Square, would include:

  • a five-story, 449-unit apartment complex;
  • a seven-story, 898-car parking garage;
  • 58 townhomes; and
  • 6,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.

Rather than providing on-site affordable units, Fairfield has instead opted to pay an in-lieu fee toward the production of affordable housing elsewhere in Santa Ana. A staff report estimates that the developer will pay just over $8 million, based on the number of apartments proposed and square footage of the complex.

AO is designing the apartment building, which would be a wrap-style building surrounding the proposed parking garage. Plans show a contemporary low-rise structure, oriented toward 4th Street, which with ground-floor retail flanked by a public plaza. Plans call for apartments ranging from studios to two-bedroom dwellings.

Rendering of the Cabrillo Town Center developmentKTGY

The townhomes, planned toward the northern side of the property facing 5th Street, would be three-story structures designed by KTGY. Plans call for a mix of two-, three-, and four-bedroom units.

The staff report estimates that the approximately $250-million development is expected to generate $22.8 million in recurring revenue for the city, as well as 1,913 temporary jobs and 32 permanent jobs.

Fairfield, based in San Diego, is developing similar housing complexes within the City of Los Angeles in the Westchester, Warner Center, and Glassell Park neighborhoods.

Cabrillo Town Square follows on the heels of a handful of other large apartment buildings which have recently been completed along the 1st Street corridor to the south.

1901 and 1971 E. Fourth Street and 515 and 525 N. Cabrillo Park DriveCity of Santa Ana

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