Irvine Co. Unit to Build Apartments in Newport

Irvine Apartment Communities, the publicly traded arm of the Irvine Co., said Thursday it has purchased land near the Fashion Island shopping mall in Newport Beach to build a 245-unit luxury apartment project with ocean views.

Irvine Apartment Communities, which builds apartments in Orange County, bought 6.4 acres from the Irvine Co. for $3.5 million. As part of the transaction, Irvine Co. will receive about $2.4 million of new partnership units from Irvine Apartment Communities.

Construction on the $42-million complex is scheduled to begin in June. Called the Colony at Fashion Island, the complex will feature a staffed, gated-entry, resort pool and luxury apartments when it opens in the summer of 1997. The land is next to the Newport Harbor Art Museum.

Irvine Apartment Communities is a real estate investment trust that owns 50 apartment communities, including 13,184 completed rental units and 884 units under construction. All of the company’s properties are on the Irvine Ranch, the nation’s largest master-planned community.