William Lyon Co. Turns Attention to Apartments : Housing: The slump in single-family homes prompted the firm’s strategy, which may bring about the county’s first high-rise apartment building.

The residential real estate market is in a slump and developers have all but stopped making plans to build new single-family homes in Orange County. But William Lyon Co.’s apartment arm is running flat out these days.

Over the next 18 months or so, William Lyon Property Management Co. will build nearly 3,000 apartment units in four luxury projects, including what could be the county’s first high-rise apartment building.

The high rise, which would be the final phase of the company’s 1,442-unit Park Place project in Irvine, is in the “just talking about it” stages, according to Frank Furyan Jr., president of the Lyon Co. apartment subsidiary. He said no plans have been drawn up and nothing has been discussed with city officials.

But Lyon officials clearly believe that Orange County--long the home of the rambling-ranch lifestyle--is fast becoming a metropolitan area where apartment dwelling is becoming an increasingly acceptable--and affordable--alternative to home ownership.

While the county’s population growth has slowed in recent years, there still are a lot of adults moving into the county who need housing, Furyan said.

“The Lyon strategy, which is a lot like (Irvine Co. Chairman) Don Bren’s, is that there is a long-term future for housing, both rental and ownership, and the two markets are countercyclical,” Furyan said. “When the ownership market is off, the rental market is hot.”

Furyan also said apartment living “is part of a maturing market, so it is part of Orange County. And as home prices climb, many people are not going to be able to live here unless they rent.”

In its four new projects, the company’s marketing stresses the luxury aspects and the relatively large size of the units.

At Park Place, at the corner of Jamboree Road and Michelson Drive, units will range from a 550-square-foot bachelor apartment to a 1,700-square-foot, two-bedroom unit.

Lyon plans to break ground for the development within the next six months and will initially build about 1,100 apartments. The remaining units will go into the final phase, whether it is a high-rise or built in some other configuration, Furyan said.

“We’ve done a lot of research into the dynamics of the upper-end apartment market,” Furyan said. “And this will truly be a luxury apartment complex like nothing Orange County has seen.”

It will also include a 30,000-square-foot recreation building that will contain tennis, racquetball and basketball courts and a health food bar. A computer room and a library also will be available for tenants, he said.