IRVINE, CA—The design trends of newlydeveloped and renovated WestCoast multifamily properties actually began on theEast Coast, Samuel Simone, senior managingdirector of locally based national developer Mill CreekResidential, tells GlobeSt.com. Simone, who relocated toCalifornia from the Washington, DC, area in 2012, says trends likesmaller unit sizes and enhanced common amenities got their startback East, where the recovery from the recession began earlier thanout here.

“East Coast multifamily development reboundedquicker from the recession than the West Coast,” says Simone. “Thenew cycle started on the East Coast and moved west, so we were ableto take some East Coast ideas and implement them in the newconstruction out here. Unit design and mix haveevolved significant. The emphasis is on smaller, more-efficientunits translating to more cost-effective units for residents. Theother concept was to accentuate the amenities.”

One of Mill Creek's latest projects is ModeraIrvine, a boutique multifamily communityin the Irvine Business Complex here that brokeground in May 2013 and has gone through at least one name changeduring its development. Previously called EXOIrvine, the 194-unit community is preparing to beginleasing in August, and the final units will be available in thefirst quarter of 2015, according to Simone. Amenities include aclubroom, outdoor ping pong and pool tables, outdoor waterfeatures, an Olympic-size pool, multiple outdoor grilling stationsand cabanas with TVs and iPod docking stations.