Irvine Co. Plans Pelican Hill Resort

NEWPORT COAST, CA-The Irvine Co. plans to start construction this summer on a 204-room hotel and golf resort called Pelican Hill at Newport Coast that the Irvine-based company will independently own and manage. The resort will be adjacent to the Irvine Co.’s Pelican Hill golf complex, which will close temporarily for the installation of a new water management system at the Tom Fazio-designed Pelican Hill courses. In addition to the 204-room hotel, Pelican Hill will include a residence club with 128 villas, a new golf clubhouse, restaurants, a spa, meeting rooms and specialty shops. The clubhouse and villas are expected to open in late 2007, followed by the other elements of the resort. Clarence Barker, president of the Irvine Co.’s Investment Properties Group, says that Pelican Hill at Newport Coast will be “a classic, five-star resort.” The architecture of the resort will be Italian Renaissance, inspired by Andrea Palladio’s country villas, palaces and churches in Northern Italy. The golf courses will need to be closed temporarily because the new water management system will require the construction of large underground cisterns that will hold as much water as one-and-a-half Olympic-size swimming pools. The system will capture and hold water run-off, which will be used for irrigation. While the courses are closed, golf course designer Fazio will recommend and oversee changes and improvements, including seeding with Bermuda grass to lend them a brighter look. The courses are expected to re-open along with the new golf clubhouse and related practice facilities in late 2007. Plans for Pelican Hill were first announced in 2003. Since then, the Irvine Co. has worked with community representatives to refine its plans, which include incorporating the existing golf clubhouse into the hotel.