Related Eyes $3B Orange County Mixed-Use Project
This development will mark the largest private investment ever in this Southern California city.
Related California is one step closer to the development of a $3 billion, 41-acre mixed-use community comprising 3,750 apartments, 200 senior housing units, 250 hotel keys and 350,000 square feet of retail and commercial space. The project is set to take shape in Santa Ana, Calif.
The City Council unanimously approved plans to redevelop a 50-year-old retail center into a mixed-use project. A second and final vote will take place on October 15, and should it also lean in favor of Related, the developer will begin working on design and construction plans.
Related could break ground in early 2026 and the project, dubbed Related Bristol, would be built in three phases over a 10-year period. The mixed-use development would generate $500 million in net revenue for the city over its lifespan’s initial 30-year period, as well as $544 million in community benefits and 16,800 new jobs creating $1.5 billion in citywide, one-time labor income.
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The development team includes urban designer Gehl and outdoor space planner RIOS. Robert A.M. Stern Architects and Elkus Manfredi Architects will provide design services for the mixed-use project. The former also served as the primary design leader for the development’s planning.
Upon completion, Related Bristol will be the largest private investment in Santa Ana’s history. The mixed-use development is slated to create 13 acres of open space featuring parks and plazas, community events and a public safety office, as well as 6,520 onsite parking spaces.
Although the project will not include affordable units, Related will pay Santa Ana $16 million in Lieu Fees to be used for affordable housing developments throughout the city. Additionally, the company will also contribute $22 million toward the city’s Community Benefit Fund which may be deployed at the Council’s discretion.
Redeveloping a half-a-century old shopping center
The mixed-use development will take root at 3600 S. Bristol St.—roughly 5 miles southeast of downtown Santa Ana and 4 miles northwest of downtown Irvine, Calif., as well as about 4 miles northeast of downtown Costa Mesa.
The site contains an existing commercial development known as the Bristol Center. Initially used for farming sugar beets and lima beans in the early 1900s, the location welcomed a shopping center in the 1970s which has been in use since.
Consisting of 465,063 square feet of retail space, the plaza includes three multi-story buildings and 11 one-story facilities. The current tenant roster encompasses Vons, Ross Dress for Less and Hobby Lobby. All leases are bound to expire in 2025. Once redeveloped, a net loss of 115,000 square feet of retail space will occur.
Orange County completions decreased year-over-year
As of October, Orange County’s pipeline had upward of 9,000 units underway, while more than 30,000 units were in the planning and permitting stages, according to Yardi Matrix data. Developers broke ground on roughly 1,100 units and delivered more than 1,400 apartments in the first nine months of the year. During the same period of last year, 2,500 units were added to the county’s supply pipeline, while more than 2,200 apartments came online.
Orange County’s advertised year-over-year average multifamily rent growth clocked in at 0.7 percent in August, according to a Yardi Matrix report. The percentage was 10 basis points below the national average.
Last month, news broke on another mixed-use project in Orange County. Shea Properties debuted The Square Cypress, a 13.3-acre, mixed-use development in Cypress, Calif. The project’s multifamily component, dubbed Acadia Apartments, includes 251 units.
