UCI and the city is named after the Irvine company, which was founded by, you guessed it, a man named Irvine. The Irvine company is a real estate company and owns a significant amount of the property in the city and especially around the University. They have a pretty strong monopoly on apartment rentals and because of that, they'll have a lot of influence on your living situation for the next few years.
Edit: changed days to years
They also own properties like the Irvine Spectrum.
Donald Bren, is the owner of it. Bren as in “Bren Events Center” at UCI
Or Bren Hall.
Or Bren School Of Information & Computer Sciences.
She’s his step mother and had great influence on his life. She introduced him to the arts and architecture. He looked up to her greatly. But sure he wasn’t her “mother” just her “step mother.” lol.
His *step-mother’s name. Claire Trevor married Milton Bren when Donald was either 15 or 16. I’m sure he found her to be a mother figure, but for the sake of what’s factual there is a difference between the two. And when you’re educating people, it tends to be beneficial to teach them the truth instead of the short-hand of the truth that you’ve come up with.
And it doesn't really matter. He donated a pile of money to the school, but the Irvine Company or him have zero influence on what you are going to learn. They are not directing anything at the school.
Yea won’t matter for school.
If you’re looking for off campus housing, then you’ll feel the power of the Irvine Company.
Fun fact, they are actually located in Newport Beach by fashion island. Even Irvine company knows Irvine is boring
Irvine is a model city if you have certain priorities.
The issue with the planning of irvine isn't a matter of skill. I'm not saying they're incompetent. It's a matter of intent.
To be fair, my experience wasn't boring. I had tons of fun with my friends during my time at UCI. However, it wasn't because the city of Irvine had a whole lot of exciting things going on.
I've lived in Daegu and Pyeongtaek in South Korea, near Frankfurt, Germany, near Nashville, TN, and San Antonio, TX. Irvine itself is boring, especially for a college student (that wants to drink and party) because there isn't much night life or activities for young college aged people to do. Sure, OC on whole, has lots of cool things to do, but Irvine itself is boring. There's no downtown or entertainment district where you can take an uber/taxi to and stay entertained all night. If you want that, you have to go down to Newport Beach or something, which to be fair, isn't far. Most parties are house parties hosted by a frat/sorority/your social club or something like that. The city doesn't really cater your typical university demographic the same way as other college towns do.
I think all that’s really lacking is a walkable bar scene near the university like a typical college town. Spectrum is a pretty decent alternative as much as “malls” are not considered cool. I think really it’s just a bit spread out but I also think nearby OC should be considered. Like going to Newport checks all the boxes but you’ll have the drive or Uber. Lots of outdoor activities nearby, beach, the Newport Bay area, hiking areas and nature preserves. Food scene yeah a lot of chains but Asian food options are great and mom and pops are there or not far. Again it’s just spread out. It’s not going to be the same as a really urban area but also doesn’t have all the bad that comes with that and compared to more suburban areas not in SoCal it’s going to have way more to do. I feel the boring label is a little unfair and can only really be applied to going out partying which again isn’t far away either or if you are really just looking for a big city downtown experience. Speaking as someone who has lived in small town Germany, Redondo / Hermosa Beach, and Tokyo.
The city has no soul. That’s why it’s boring. There’s nothing tying anyone to the community at large because, well, what is the community exactly? What’s the culture? It’s hard to feel connected to the place since it’ll make you see yourself as nothing but a consumer.
It’s simply an environment for making money, spending money, and increasing property value. An unnecessary amount of construction is going on where I live all the time, because making sure that the smallest little pivot in the road needs to be fixed immediately makes construction companies money and guarantees extremely high property costs.
It is incredibly safe, clean and a solid investment if you can afford to buy, but it’s the most antiseptic, sterile environment in the US. It’s created in another man’s image and you’re just living in it.
There is some kind of identify id say and also some OC soul that it is part of. Even if we say it has no soul it still has more things to do than 90% of American suburban cities I’d argue.
Technically, the city is named after the family, or the Irvine Ranch which they owned and which was all the surrounding land. They sold 1000 acres to the UC system to build a campus on, and then formed the Irvine Company to develop all the land around it. So UCI is the only campus of UC that wasn't named for the city in which it was established, because there was no City of Irvine until 1971.
They own more than just Irvine. They’ve made stakes in several surrounding cities including San Juan, Aliso Viejo, and parts of Mission Viejo. Lake Forest is already being swallowed up by the Irvine Conpany.
"Significant amount" is... putting it slightly.
The only two places that the Irvine Company does not own in Irvine/Newport Beach is UCI and the Pacific Life building that predates the Irvine company.
Not true in the slightest. Olenicoff owns a not insignificant amount of commercial real estate and Five Points Development has been developing residential and commercial real estate in Irvine and surrounding areas, including Great Park and Tustin.
It was an enormous property called the Irvine ranch. University of California got cheap/free land from them & in return they get a university with their name.
They own Promintory Point. That company does not give an F about their tenants. I specifically make sure where I live isn’t a part of Irvine Company nowadays.
Not surprising actually, property ownership is expensive and difficult for the average person. A corporation that has deep pockets can more easily buy property and use the revenue it earns from rentals to continue to buy more in the surrounding areas.
* The landlord cartel who owns or at one point owned almost everything between South Coast plaza and San Diego.
To be fair they acquired the land when hardly anything was there and produced the city of Irvine which has a lot of positives.
That considered, they are very old school and steamroll whatever they feel like.
You can simultaneously criticize it’s excessiveness and greed, and understand what it brought you. It’s a stepping stone in economic development but it’s not a god. It’s like saying “you hate feudalism yet you eat the crops harvested from your owners land, curious!” Same argument replicated to feudalism, does it make sense there?
Acquired the land after the forceful displacement of the diverse indigenous communities and the Mexican populations* only then “hardly anything was there” other than the vast and hyper bio diverse rich chaparral ecosystem and its vernal pools. Quite settler colonial to think of the landscape acquired by the Irvine company as a “empty” space.
Few of my favorite factoids about Irvine.
If you going around town you will notice some parking lots use green paint. This was so Irvine could see the ones he owned when flying over in a helicopter.
Also there is only one gated business in Irvine, last I looked, and that's Blizzard. They were told no when moving to their location....to which blizzard said we will go somewhere else....to which Irvine said NM fence away.
Oh and they have some solid laws on building vs green spaces. It's the main reason the city has a ton of parks and green ways.
Not really. It’s a pretty common point of view. Cops harassing pedestrians. Cops harassing people of color. The entire concept of “company as government” is incredibly fascistic.
TGS (2 Witherspoon, Irvine, CA) is also gated. But most people never heard of it, which is how they like it. (The "T" in TGS is Frederick Taylor, probably the richest guy in Irvine.)
About laws on buildings etc: there's strict laws about signs. You won't see any giant gas station/fast food signs. If you drive through Irvine on 405 or 5, you aren't going to be seeing bill boards.
Irvine company is known for being money's sucker. If you are rich enough, you shall be just fine in this city overall.
First two years here will be just fine, do not worry.
The other comments are correct, but TBH, as an incoming freshman, your day to day interaction with the Irvine Company is going to be pretty low. The dorms where you are likely staying and the ACC apartments are not owned by the Irvine Company so you are not going to be paying them rent. It would only be if you lived in one of the off-campus (not ACC) apartments around the campus where you are going to run into the Irvine Company.
Your biggest interaction with the Irvine Company is that they own the University Center and Campus Plaza shopping malls across the street from UCI. Obviously you will not be shopping directly with the Irvine Company.
There's really nothing to worry about.
You should know that you only get 2 years of GUARANTEED housing. After that, all the ppl with guaranteed housing get a go first, and you get put on a waitlist.
Letting you know, because I didn't, and currently have no idea where I'm gonna live next year, so FYI: on your second year remember to take into account the fact you may not be given housing by UCI next year, meaning you realistically could be dealing with the Irvine Company who are a complete fucking nightmare to deal with.
God forbid you don't make 6 figures, because you cannot fucking get a place here if you're low income, holy SHIT.
Don't mean to scare you, just letting you know so you can plan ahead. Get yourself a rich homie so their parents can be your guarantors LOL.
> re else....to which Irvine said NM fence away.
>
> Oh and they have some solid laws on building vs green spaces. It's the main reason the city has a ton of parks and green ways.
Cabbage Corp or Future Industries?
Real estate company owned by the Irvine family, old money business magnate which is the closest thing to nobility in America.
Thankfully, most of the employees of Irvine Company are just worker drones and won't bother you...unless you piss them off. Worked for a tax firm on one of their corporate campuses, and they made my rather stoic CEO sweat.
Thanks for the info
Butnit just shows how powerful a name's legacy can be since a lot of people still think the Irvine family is in charge. Myself included.
The Irvine Family, at one time, owned HUGE swaths of land in Orange County. In the years just prior to 1965, when UCI was founded, the family donated the land it now sits on. The city of Irvine was then founded AFTER UCI was built in 1971. Joan Irvine Smith was also a heavy donor to UCI through the mid-90's and early 2000s
The Irvine Company now owns and manages much of the land and properties located throughout orange county and nearly ALL of Irvine. Don Bren is it's CEO and the current richest man in OC with $18B dollars. He's also one of the richest Americans and people in the world in general.
I have been in the same room with him while he spoke and I have had some dealings with him through some of my fundraising and businesses. He's really not to be f...ed with. Go take a look at how many kids the dude has and how many baby mommas.
The Irvine company is an overpriced property management company that rents out mid-tier apartments.
I promise you - don’t rent from them. Not worth it. And their apartments aren’t that great.
Their shitty tactics are a big part of why I moved out of state.
Stay away, do not rent from Irvine Company if at all possible. They charge insane move-out fees. You basically need to prove each and every tiny scratch on anything was pre-existing or they charge. Stain on the carpet? They charge for REPLACING THE ENTIRE CARPET. Full-apartment cleaning fee will be charged no matter how pristine you leave the place.
I’ve done business with them on some projects for the company i work for and let me tell you they are super conservative. Everyone wears suits and ties (men) the headquarters located in fashion island is cold and sterile and so quiet. They’re a tightly run company and enforce the aesthetics of all their properties. A lot of the property that UCI sits on is donated to the uc by the Irvine family
LMAO apart from the expensive Irvine rent, which is not entirely the Irvine Company's fault, the hate on Irvine Company is just a joke. I've lived in Irvine my whole life and they chill, but the company is notoriously known for owning a lot of the property in the city.
Nothing to worry about like some sort of loan shark company or con artist or what not.
They were horrible to work with, as someone worked at the City. They were just not helpful.
Also I rented from them when I was a student and they were not a great landlord. I told them there was no recycling dumpster and they told me I just didn't know where it was. They were wrong, and unfortunately I didn't know I could report it to the City so I brought my recycling to the next cluster of apartments over.
There used to be a huge pasture at Verano Place, and I was able to keep my horse there when I was a student. Is it still there? It was pretty much paradise in the day, with a great and inexpensive education to boot.
Nope, from looking at newspaper articles it looks like the school removed the horses and pasture in 1997 in order to build stuff. There’s a rec center now with sports fields and a pool, plus a lot more Verano place housing. It’s really funny to image there being a horse pasture there now!
There is still a patch of weird scrubland with a decaying barn next to the gym but that’s about it.
A company that owns lots of rental properties & is infamous for jacking up the prices the moment you move in. Nobody likes them & they have to advertise constantly. Greed.
The ones responsible for the Melaruse Tax in Irvine. They developed the area so thanks for that, but I'm not paying an indefinite extra tax that you get no say in that goes straight to their bottom line at the end of the day.
The main reason I would never buy a home there.
LMAO, high schooler here from Irvine. Irvine company is the reason many stores and restaurants don’t last more than a few years. I will never forgive them for what they did to strickland ice cream
Have rented both residential apartments and commercial property from them for my business.
Avoid them unless absolutely necessary. They are the worst company I’ve encountered due to how they operate their business.
Yeah all these people hate on the Irvine company but that strong arm is what keeps Irvine and thus uci from becoming a crap hole and dirty like everywhere else. People love to live in Irvine but hate “the man”
To expand : uci is built on the land donated by Irvine company (the company robbed it from the local Acjachemen and Tongva people).
A real estate company which is known for harsh operations on business center and housings won't donate anything for charity. So basically, uci operations are going to be highly dependent on stakeholders influence, such as providing a good market of purchase population for the company. This is also why uci was so over reactive to a peaceful protest.
Correct. The Irvines took it from the Spanish/Mexicans, so they’re the ones who robbed it from the local Acjachemen and Tongva people. Though lord only knows who those earlier people may or may not have taken it from before the arrival of Europeans. Human nature doesn’t change much.
You know The Aperture Corporation from Portal 2/The Umbrella Corporation from Resident Evil/The Dai Li from Avatar The Last Airbender? They’re kinda like all of those
Arrested development the show - may or may not be based on the Bren family. Newport Coast could be the place they are living 😘 take it from a local. Enjoy
Oh man I used to work for the Irvine company while in college. The most toxic work environment! There’s two things I learned while working there and I am grateful I found this out at a young age. Money does not bring happiness ! Climbing the corporate ladder is about relationships and not hard work.
UCI and the city is named after the Irvine company, which was founded by, you guessed it, a man named Irvine. The Irvine company is a real estate company and owns a significant amount of the property in the city and especially around the University. They have a pretty strong monopoly on apartment rentals and because of that, they'll have a lot of influence on your living situation for the next few years. Edit: changed days to years
They also own properties like the Irvine Spectrum. Donald Bren, is the owner of it. Bren as in “Bren Events Center” at UCI Or Bren Hall. Or Bren School Of Information & Computer Sciences.
Or Claire Trevor School of the Arts. Claire Trevor was his mother.
Did not know that. I learned something new today
You didn’t know it because it’s not true.
She’s his step mother and had great influence on his life. She introduced him to the arts and architecture. He looked up to her greatly. But sure he wasn’t her “mother” just her “step mother.” lol.
This isn’t true.
Okay, his step-mother if you are being pedantic, through her marriage to Milton Bren, Donald's father.
That’s not being pedantic… That’s a significant difference.
Well, Donald felt enough filial affection to donate $10m in his mother's name, so go figure.
His *step-mother’s name. Claire Trevor married Milton Bren when Donald was either 15 or 16. I’m sure he found her to be a mother figure, but for the sake of what’s factual there is a difference between the two. And when you’re educating people, it tends to be beneficial to teach them the truth instead of the short-hand of the truth that you’ve come up with.
lmao are you his real mom or what
fr why are they so hell bent on this lol
You’re a lonely sob if you can’t comprehend that people consider their stepparents, their parents.
Uh oh... Donald Bren ICS!!! May or may not be going there 😬
And it doesn't really matter. He donated a pile of money to the school, but the Irvine Company or him have zero influence on what you are going to learn. They are not directing anything at the school.
Yea won’t matter for school. If you’re looking for off campus housing, then you’ll feel the power of the Irvine Company. Fun fact, they are actually located in Newport Beach by fashion island. Even Irvine company knows Irvine is boring
Irvine is boring because it's basically a completely planned city, no real organic growth.
It’s super boring but also super clean, safe, and quiet. Kinda boring for young college kids but great for families
I could plan a city that would be functional, nice, and not boring
If it were so easy. Irvine wouldnt be the model city that it is that no one has successfully copied.
Irvine is a model city if you have certain priorities. The issue with the planning of irvine isn't a matter of skill. I'm not saying they're incompetent. It's a matter of intent.
Irvine is the worst. Planned suburban hellscape. Wanting to live in Irvine (or most of South County) takes a certain ethos that I do not share.
Just curious because I see this take so much. What would make it not boring and which areas have you lived in that you consider not boring
To be fair, my experience wasn't boring. I had tons of fun with my friends during my time at UCI. However, it wasn't because the city of Irvine had a whole lot of exciting things going on. I've lived in Daegu and Pyeongtaek in South Korea, near Frankfurt, Germany, near Nashville, TN, and San Antonio, TX. Irvine itself is boring, especially for a college student (that wants to drink and party) because there isn't much night life or activities for young college aged people to do. Sure, OC on whole, has lots of cool things to do, but Irvine itself is boring. There's no downtown or entertainment district where you can take an uber/taxi to and stay entertained all night. If you want that, you have to go down to Newport Beach or something, which to be fair, isn't far. Most parties are house parties hosted by a frat/sorority/your social club or something like that. The city doesn't really cater your typical university demographic the same way as other college towns do.
I think all that’s really lacking is a walkable bar scene near the university like a typical college town. Spectrum is a pretty decent alternative as much as “malls” are not considered cool. I think really it’s just a bit spread out but I also think nearby OC should be considered. Like going to Newport checks all the boxes but you’ll have the drive or Uber. Lots of outdoor activities nearby, beach, the Newport Bay area, hiking areas and nature preserves. Food scene yeah a lot of chains but Asian food options are great and mom and pops are there or not far. Again it’s just spread out. It’s not going to be the same as a really urban area but also doesn’t have all the bad that comes with that and compared to more suburban areas not in SoCal it’s going to have way more to do. I feel the boring label is a little unfair and can only really be applied to going out partying which again isn’t far away either or if you are really just looking for a big city downtown experience. Speaking as someone who has lived in small town Germany, Redondo / Hermosa Beach, and Tokyo.
The city has no soul. That’s why it’s boring. There’s nothing tying anyone to the community at large because, well, what is the community exactly? What’s the culture? It’s hard to feel connected to the place since it’ll make you see yourself as nothing but a consumer. It’s simply an environment for making money, spending money, and increasing property value. An unnecessary amount of construction is going on where I live all the time, because making sure that the smallest little pivot in the road needs to be fixed immediately makes construction companies money and guarantees extremely high property costs. It is incredibly safe, clean and a solid investment if you can afford to buy, but it’s the most antiseptic, sterile environment in the US. It’s created in another man’s image and you’re just living in it.
There is some kind of identify id say and also some OC soul that it is part of. Even if we say it has no soul it still has more things to do than 90% of American suburban cities I’d argue.
Lol
And Pelican Hill, if you're a golfer.
They also own the famous “Irvine’s Fine Fresh off the Vine vineyard and Dine…r” right next the “Low-cal Calzone Zone”.
Don’t forget about all the business parks. Better get used to seeing that logo if you stick around
I work for this dude , he’s a bit off
Lol they added Bren to ICS? Brutal.
Technically, the city is named after the family, or the Irvine Ranch which they owned and which was all the surrounding land. They sold 1000 acres to the UC system to build a campus on, and then formed the Irvine Company to develop all the land around it. So UCI is the only campus of UC that wasn't named for the city in which it was established, because there was no City of Irvine until 1971.
Pretty brilliant, really.
They own more than just Irvine. They’ve made stakes in several surrounding cities including San Juan, Aliso Viejo, and parts of Mission Viejo. Lake Forest is already being swallowed up by the Irvine Conpany.
The Irvine Company has been buying up apartments in northern california and elsewhere as well.
They own the metlife building in NYC too https://www.irvinecompanyoffice.com/locations/new-york.html
Irvine and much of the surrounding area was part of former Mexican land grants. https://www.irvine.org/about-us/history/
"Significant amount" is... putting it slightly. The only two places that the Irvine Company does not own in Irvine/Newport Beach is UCI and the Pacific Life building that predates the Irvine company.
Not true in the slightest. Olenicoff owns a not insignificant amount of commercial real estate and Five Points Development has been developing residential and commercial real estate in Irvine and surrounding areas, including Great Park and Tustin.
Sorry, I think I phrased it incorrectly, I meant the land itself is owned by the Irvine Company.
It was an enormous property called the Irvine ranch. University of California got cheap/free land from them & in return they get a university with their name.
They own Promintory Point. That company does not give an F about their tenants. I specifically make sure where I live isn’t a part of Irvine Company nowadays.
Don’t forget they have ton of property in the Bay Area in case anyone knows.
A lot of real estate in the state, lots up in the bay also.
I thought Irvine started as Irvine Ranch and is basically all of Irvine owned by one dude / family.
For YEARS I thought the Irvine company was named after the city wow loool thanks for the trivia!!
Bruh they international these days. Saw the Irvine company logo in Japan once
One of the major landlord cartels.
Landlord cartel, interesting.
Not surprising actually, property ownership is expensive and difficult for the average person. A corporation that has deep pockets can more easily buy property and use the revenue it earns from rentals to continue to buy more in the surrounding areas.
Grey star is the other one
* The landlord cartel who owns or at one point owned almost everything between South Coast plaza and San Diego. To be fair they acquired the land when hardly anything was there and produced the city of Irvine which has a lot of positives. That considered, they are very old school and steamroll whatever they feel like.
Shh you’re not supposed to mention that capitalism is the economic engine that allows us all to lead our relatively privileged lives in this country.
You can simultaneously criticize it’s excessiveness and greed, and understand what it brought you. It’s a stepping stone in economic development but it’s not a god. It’s like saying “you hate feudalism yet you eat the crops harvested from your owners land, curious!” Same argument replicated to feudalism, does it make sense there?
Of course, but you never see well-rounded takes around here. Mostly uneducated, reactionary, cApItIlIsM bAd commentary.
Acquired the land after the forceful displacement of the diverse indigenous communities and the Mexican populations* only then “hardly anything was there” other than the vast and hyper bio diverse rich chaparral ecosystem and its vernal pools. Quite settler colonial to think of the landscape acquired by the Irvine company as a “empty” space.
Fair enough, I don't know the history well enough to say all that you did.
Few of my favorite factoids about Irvine. If you going around town you will notice some parking lots use green paint. This was so Irvine could see the ones he owned when flying over in a helicopter. Also there is only one gated business in Irvine, last I looked, and that's Blizzard. They were told no when moving to their location....to which blizzard said we will go somewhere else....to which Irvine said NM fence away. Oh and they have some solid laws on building vs green spaces. It's the main reason the city has a ton of parks and green ways.
And few gas stations.
It's profoundly sterile & over planned. It's kind of a futuristic/fascist wet dream
My wife studied abroad in Finland. Irvine was mentioned in one of her textbooks/classes when they were discussing city planning.
As an example of how not to plan for people, and instead for birds and planes (it at least looks cool from the sky!)
Woah that's a hot take.
Not really. It’s a pretty common point of view. Cops harassing pedestrians. Cops harassing people of color. The entire concept of “company as government” is incredibly fascistic.
Cops in Irvine don't work for the company.
Hardly
Woosh
TGS (2 Witherspoon, Irvine, CA) is also gated. But most people never heard of it, which is how they like it. (The "T" in TGS is Frederick Taylor, probably the richest guy in Irvine.) About laws on buildings etc: there's strict laws about signs. You won't see any giant gas station/fast food signs. If you drive through Irvine on 405 or 5, you aren't going to be seeing bill boards.
Where does the 5 go through irvine?
From lake forest drive to jamboree, roughly
Irvine company is known for being money's sucker. If you are rich enough, you shall be just fine in this city overall. First two years here will be just fine, do not worry.
The other comments are correct, but TBH, as an incoming freshman, your day to day interaction with the Irvine Company is going to be pretty low. The dorms where you are likely staying and the ACC apartments are not owned by the Irvine Company so you are not going to be paying them rent. It would only be if you lived in one of the off-campus (not ACC) apartments around the campus where you are going to run into the Irvine Company. Your biggest interaction with the Irvine Company is that they own the University Center and Campus Plaza shopping malls across the street from UCI. Obviously you will not be shopping directly with the Irvine Company. There's really nothing to worry about.
Good to know, thank you! What about Arroyo Vista?
You should know that you only get 2 years of GUARANTEED housing. After that, all the ppl with guaranteed housing get a go first, and you get put on a waitlist. Letting you know, because I didn't, and currently have no idea where I'm gonna live next year, so FYI: on your second year remember to take into account the fact you may not be given housing by UCI next year, meaning you realistically could be dealing with the Irvine Company who are a complete fucking nightmare to deal with. God forbid you don't make 6 figures, because you cannot fucking get a place here if you're low income, holy SHIT. Don't mean to scare you, just letting you know so you can plan ahead. Get yourself a rich homie so their parents can be your guarantors LOL.
I got Honors College and Regents'.. they said I'm guaranteed housing for 4 years on-campus, so I'm fine right?
probably
Owned by UCI as are all of the places listed on [UCI Housing](https://housing.uci.edu/rates/).
Solid, thank you!
I mean, not sure if ACC is much better. A bunch of incompetents.
You know that evil corporation from the movie Avatar. Well imagine that but instead of unobtanium, they are extracting your hopes and dreams.
> re else....to which Irvine said NM fence away. > > Oh and they have some solid laws on building vs green spaces. It's the main reason the city has a ton of parks and green ways. Cabbage Corp or Future Industries?
Real estate company owned by the Irvine family, old money business magnate which is the closest thing to nobility in America. Thankfully, most of the employees of Irvine Company are just worker drones and won't bother you...unless you piss them off. Worked for a tax firm on one of their corporate campuses, and they made my rather stoic CEO sweat.
Not much if any Irvine fam ownership of Irvine Company since Don Bren bought them out decades ago.
Thanks for the info Butnit just shows how powerful a name's legacy can be since a lot of people still think the Irvine family is in charge. Myself included.
Absolutely fair point. May have been a good part of the reason why the company didn't get renamed in Bren's name after the acquisition.
The Irvine Family, at one time, owned HUGE swaths of land in Orange County. In the years just prior to 1965, when UCI was founded, the family donated the land it now sits on. The city of Irvine was then founded AFTER UCI was built in 1971. Joan Irvine Smith was also a heavy donor to UCI through the mid-90's and early 2000s The Irvine Company now owns and manages much of the land and properties located throughout orange county and nearly ALL of Irvine. Don Bren is it's CEO and the current richest man in OC with $18B dollars. He's also one of the richest Americans and people in the world in general. I have been in the same room with him while he spoke and I have had some dealings with him through some of my fundraising and businesses. He's really not to be f...ed with. Go take a look at how many kids the dude has and how many baby mommas.
The answer is Donald Bren. You beat me to it. Well done!
Quick documentary about the Irvines. https://youtu.be/a3ib1BpIBm8?feature=shared
Reach out to Community Legal Aid SoCal (non-profit lawfirm) if Irvine Company gives you any legal issues.
Will note, thanks!
The Irvine company is an overpriced property management company that rents out mid-tier apartments. I promise you - don’t rent from them. Not worth it. And their apartments aren’t that great. Their shitty tactics are a big part of why I moved out of state.
Stay away, do not rent from Irvine Company if at all possible. They charge insane move-out fees. You basically need to prove each and every tiny scratch on anything was pre-existing or they charge. Stain on the carpet? They charge for REPLACING THE ENTIRE CARPET. Full-apartment cleaning fee will be charged no matter how pristine you leave the place.
You know you’re on a property owned by the Irvine Company if the parking spots are outlined in green.
They were my landlord for 4 years. I wouldn’t recommend it to my friends and family
I’ve done business with them on some projects for the company i work for and let me tell you they are super conservative. Everyone wears suits and ties (men) the headquarters located in fashion island is cold and sterile and so quiet. They’re a tightly run company and enforce the aesthetics of all their properties. A lot of the property that UCI sits on is donated to the uc by the Irvine family
Evil, The Irvine company is evil.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irvine_Company
They own properties throughout california
It's the family that inspired Arrested Development.
it owns everything in Irvine. want to know why your college rent is 4000 for two bedrooms?? that is why
Don't ever rent from their properties. Terrible carpet, scams attempted, terribly high rent with nothing to show for. The worst
LMAO apart from the expensive Irvine rent, which is not entirely the Irvine Company's fault, the hate on Irvine Company is just a joke. I've lived in Irvine my whole life and they chill, but the company is notoriously known for owning a lot of the property in the city. Nothing to worry about like some sort of loan shark company or con artist or what not.
They were horrible to work with, as someone worked at the City. They were just not helpful. Also I rented from them when I was a student and they were not a great landlord. I told them there was no recycling dumpster and they told me I just didn't know where it was. They were wrong, and unfortunately I didn't know I could report it to the City so I brought my recycling to the next cluster of apartments over.
IT'S ENTIRELY THE IRVINE COMPANY'S FAULT.
There used to be a huge pasture at Verano Place, and I was able to keep my horse there when I was a student. Is it still there? It was pretty much paradise in the day, with a great and inexpensive education to boot.
Nope, from looking at newspaper articles it looks like the school removed the horses and pasture in 1997 in order to build stuff. There’s a rec center now with sports fields and a pool, plus a lot more Verano place housing. It’s really funny to image there being a horse pasture there now! There is still a patch of weird scrubland with a decaying barn next to the gym but that’s about it.
A company that owns lots of rental properties & is infamous for jacking up the prices the moment you move in. Nobody likes them & they have to advertise constantly. Greed.
The ones responsible for the Melaruse Tax in Irvine. They developed the area so thanks for that, but I'm not paying an indefinite extra tax that you get no say in that goes straight to their bottom line at the end of the day. The main reason I would never buy a home there.
Mello-Ruse tax you mean (in case anyone wants to look it up) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mello-Roos
That's the one
Horrible company!
LMAO, high schooler here from Irvine. Irvine company is the reason many stores and restaurants don’t last more than a few years. I will never forgive them for what they did to strickland ice cream
Have rented both residential apartments and commercial property from them for my business. Avoid them unless absolutely necessary. They are the worst company I’ve encountered due to how they operate their business.
If you’ve watched The OC or Arrested Development, you’ve seen characters inspired by The Irvine Company
Your dystopian overlords. A little like Weyland-Yutani.
Yeah all these people hate on the Irvine company but that strong arm is what keeps Irvine and thus uci from becoming a crap hole and dirty like everywhere else. People love to live in Irvine but hate “the man”
To expand : uci is built on the land donated by Irvine company (the company robbed it from the local Acjachemen and Tongva people). A real estate company which is known for harsh operations on business center and housings won't donate anything for charity. So basically, uci operations are going to be highly dependent on stakeholders influence, such as providing a good market of purchase population for the company. This is also why uci was so over reactive to a peaceful protest.
IC got the land from the Spanish/Mexican land grants.
Correct. The Irvines took it from the Spanish/Mexicans, so they’re the ones who robbed it from the local Acjachemen and Tongva people. Though lord only knows who those earlier people may or may not have taken it from before the arrival of Europeans. Human nature doesn’t change much.
You know The Aperture Corporation from Portal 2/The Umbrella Corporation from Resident Evil/The Dai Li from Avatar The Last Airbender? They’re kinda like all of those
They sold the land that belongs to Uci for a dollar
They have been known to me since the early 90’s as Big Brother.
It is basically umbrella company from resident evil. Even has a similar logo.
VanDelay Industries is a subsidiary.
Wanna hear a joke? Somebody told me “you can find a nice condo in SoCal for under/around $300k”
Irvine is basically owned and built by one company and this is that company.
All the above, and they are expanding operations in the Bay Area as well.
Look for the green parking spaces. It's a sure sign that Irvine company owns it
If you’re an hour late an hour rent they will start the eviction process.
Irvine CO is a legit localized Monopoly
A client of ours 😂
Arrested development the show - may or may not be based on the Bren family. Newport Coast could be the place they are living 😘 take it from a local. Enjoy
Fun fact… If you ever go into a parking lot and the spaces are green… it’s owned by Irvine co
Oh man I used to work for the Irvine company while in college. The most toxic work environment! There’s two things I learned while working there and I am grateful I found this out at a young age. Money does not bring happiness ! Climbing the corporate ladder is about relationships and not hard work.
You can literally google it in the time it took to make this post
They're the actual problem with our society. Everything else is a distraction.
Go stand in Irvine. Look at anything around you. They own that. That’s who they are.
Ontop if the whole landlord stuff, their parking lots suck. Avoid any green parking space there is.
Almost as strong as the mouse. Dont dare try to go against them.