THE SUCCESS OF NEWPORT CENTER WAS ALWAYS PART OF THE PLAN

Newport Center stands as a testament to the power of master planning. By clustering finance, real estate, technology, retail, hospitality and law in a single, master-planned district, the city center has become an economic engine. Within a 1-mile diameter—specifically the ring road circling Fashion Island—resides a concentration of global investment firms that manages or advises on more than $2.7 trillion in assets.

At 650 Newport Center Drive, PIMCO alone manages $2.2 trillion.

When combined with the assets of neighbors such as Pacific Life, Newport Center’s financial strength is staggering.

But this “City on a Hill” is not an accident of geography, like most business districts. It is the fruition of a Master Plan conceived 60 years ago—a vision that dared to reimagine what a downtown could look like.

The city center

At Newport Center, the elements of a traditional downtown were reimagined and rearranged. The Master Plan created an inverted downtown. The shops—Fashion Island—were gathered at the center of a ring road, looking inward to attractive landscaped spaces where people could stroll and feel the ocean breeze.

Surrounding this retail heart, the offices, hotels and financial services were arrayed around the edge of the ring road.

“One of the unique features of Newport Center as a business center is its walkability,” says Rob Elliott, senior vice president of Irvine Company’s Planning and Design Group. “Crescent Walk along the ring road creates a desirable way to walk between each of the office towers connecting their lobbies, plazas and gardens.”

ILLUSTRATION KEY

1. William Pereira, Newport Center master planner
2. Irvine Company planners in the 1960s, including Al Treviño and Ray Watson
3. Scott Boatwright, CEO, Chipotle Mexican Grill
4. Shannon Eusey, chair of the Board of Directors, Beacon Point Advisors

The Flight to Quality

For the vision to become reality, it had to adapt to changing commercial demands through the decades.

This commitment to the Master Plan is visible in the skyline, which was redefined in 2014 with the completion of two major towers: the PIMCO headquarters at 650 Newport Center Drive and the sleek, contemporary tower at 520 Newport Center. These dual additions cemented the district’s status as a premier corporate address while maintaining the aesthetic integrity of the ring.

Today, the Master Plan has created a 15-minute city for the successful business owner, executive and creative entrepreneur. An executive can wake up in a home in Newport Coast or a luxury penthouse at Villas Fashion Island, drive or walk 10 minutes to a global headquarters in a Class A tower, walk across the street for a business lunch at a world-class restaurant and host a client at a luxury resort—all without leaving the master-planned ecosystem.

The Newport Center Corporate Ecosystem

Newport Center represents a unique concentration of corporate activity in Southern California. Along with world-class retail, hotels and hospitality, this master-planned district in Newport Beach serves as a strategic hub for major asset managers, commercial real estate developers, established law firms and technology companies. The following chart outlines the five primary business sectors operating within this economic center, along with the key corporations anchoring each industry.