Irvine Co. is charging ahead on plans to build six new apartment complexes with a total of 4,536 units in Irvine.

This latest version of the plan, outlined in a memorandum of understanding, nearly doubles previous plans by the Irvine Co., which called for 2,500 apartments in three projects in or near the Market Place and Irvine Spectrum Center shopping hubs, the Orange County Business Journal reported.

Of the three new projects, the biggest — a nearly 1,500-unit project in the Discovery Park office park — is headed for a site where offices were once planned.

About 23% of the proposed apartments, or 1,025 units, will be below market-rate and available to households making $40K to $120K a year. One project on Technology Drive, near the intersection of the 5 and 133 freeways, could give way to a 320-unit, fully affordable housing project. Irvine Co. would likely partner with a nonprofit affordable housing provider for that one.

“Few cities have the ability to master plan new communities next to Fortune 500 companies, innovative tech startups and world-class hospitals,” Irvine Co. Senior Vice President Jeff Davis said in a statement to the OCBJ. “This framework agreement reflects that unique opportunity to meet the needs of Irvine’s workforce, businesses and residents.”

Irvine's resident base is growing. U.S Postal Service data cited by OCBJ found that one of Irvine's ZIP codes had the second-most net move-ins compared to other ZIP codes in the state between 2019 and 2022.

The city approved Irvine Co.'s plans last week, though the projects are in the early stages and still need to work their way through the approvals and permitting processes. Public hearings for the projects are slated to begin this fall.