Newport Center getting spruced up

June Casagrande

Three high-rise office buildings in Newport Center are undergoing

face-lifts from owner the Irvine Co.

High-rises at 610, 620 and 660 Newport Coast Drive are getting

aesthetic improvements to landscaping, driveways and parking lots

outside, and carpeting, paint, wall coverings, lighting fixtures and

other improvements inside. Outdoor features will include new benches

and landscaping designed to create the feel of outdoor gathering

areas.

“It’s important to note that these changes aren’t being made

because the buildings are in a state of disrepair. They’re in very

good shape,” said Murray Krow, vice president of marketing for the

office properties division of the Irvine Co. “This is a way of

investing in our portfolio to make sure that Newport Center remains

the most desirous place to do business in the Southland.”

Company representatives would not disclose the cost of the work.

The 610 Newport Center Drive building is an 18-story office

building constructed in 1971; 660 Newport Center Drive, which is next

to the Four Seasons Hotel, was built in 1974 and has 16 stories; and

620 Newport Center Drive is a 16-story office building that went up

in 1985.

Company officials said that the work has been planned in a way

that minimizes disruption to businesses at the buildings. Newport

Beach Building Department spokesman Faysal Jurdi said that the

company has been working with city officials to ensure that the work

meets city guidelines.

Work began this summer at the 660 building and is expected to be

complete at all buildings in early spring. The renovations come on

the heels of the Irvine Co.’s face-lift of the Fashion Island

shopping center, which included the addition of a carousel near the

Robinsons-May entrance and a redesign of the shopping center’s

restaurant area.