Irvine Co. to Start Work on Auto Center in Tustin

The Irvine Co. will begin construction of the $20-million Tustin Auto Center this spring on a 55-acre site north of the Santa Ana Freeway and adjacent to the 300-acre Irvine Industrial Complex in the city of Tustin.

The developer announced that the community’s city council has endorsed and approved the project which it believes will occupy a strategic location for auto dealerships.

The Tustin Auto Center is patterned after the highly successful Irvine Auto Center that was developed in the mid-1970s by the Irvine Co.

The new facility will be a totally planned development encompassing 11 parcels ranging from 2 1/2 acres to 5 1/2 acres. It will be served by an interior boulevard and will be surrounded by a completely landscaped buffer.

Bonnie Holmes, project manager for the auto center, said dealers will purchase sites from the Irvine Co. and will design and build their own showrooms.