Construction kicks off for mixed-use project in Downtown Santa Ana

Toll Brothers, one of the largest homebuilders in the United States, has broken ground on a mixed-use apartment building near the under-construction OC Streetcar line in Downtown Santa Ana.

The project, named Raffety, is being carried out by Toll Brothers Apartment Living, a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania-based company, along with joint venture partner EFJ Capital, LLC. Plans approved in 2019 by the Santa Ana Planning Commission call for the construction of two buildings on sites located at 114 and 117 E. 5th Streets, creating 218 rental apartments above 12,350 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and parking for 328 vehicles.

“Santa Ana is in the middle of an incredibly dynamic county, yet the majority of its residents commute to jobs outside the area,” said EFJ senior managing director Asheel Shah in a news release. “We believe this combined imbalance is driven by the lack of new multifamily housing opportunities in downtown Santa Ana, and that Rafferty is well-positioned to capture unmet demand for multifamily living in this community.”

MVE + Partners is designing the project, which sits at the intersection of 4th and Main Streets. The new buildings, standing five and seven stories in height, include references to historic structures in the surrounding neighborhood, such as a former Montgomery Ward building. Plans call for amenities including a courtyard swimming pool and a rooftop amenity deck.

The construction process, which was financed by a $66-million loan from Santander Bank, N.A., is expected to conclude in roughly 30 months, according to an affiliate of the project team.

Rafferty is not the first new development to sprout along the path of the OC Streetcar, a roughly four-mile at-grade rail line which is set to open in 2022. Earlier this year, National CORE broke ground on Legacy Square, an income-restricted development with commercial space near a future streetcar stop.

Toll Brothers, a Fortune 500 company which ranks among the country's most prolific residential developers, is planning a smaller apartment building on the condo canyon in Westwood. The company is particularly active in the Atlanta area, where it is behind plans for numerous subdivisions and multifamily developments.

• Santa Ana (Urbanize LA)