Member of the Month Archive

Bugatti Getting its Own Irvine Showroom for $2 Million Veyron, $3 Million Chiron

Friday, February 19, 2021

(Orange County Register) Bugatti Newport Beach in Irvine is expanding its operation with a 1,500-square-foot showroom and service center that will showcase some of the French automaker’s high-performance and ultra-pricey vehicles. The dealership at 44 Auto Center Drive recently broke ground on the $2 million expansion, which is expected to be completed in late 2021 or early 2022. The showroom will feature a “configuration table” where buyers can order custom options in regard to color, trim, and other details. “There was no Bugatti franchise in Orange County before, but we’ve been awarded the franchise so we’re building a dedicated showroom at this address,” said Pietr...

Irvine-Based Company Hiring 140,000 Delivery Drivers Nationwide

Saturday, February 13, 2021

(Orange County Register) Irvine-based Delivery Drivers Inc. (DDI), is planning to hire more than 140,000 last-mile drivers nationwide, including tens of thousands in Southern California, by the end of 2021. The drivers DDI provides work as independent contractors delivering for industries such as restaurants, courier services, grocers, medical and pharmaceutical outlets, and retail. Walmart is the company’s biggest client. DDI has experienced tremendous growth over the last five years due to a surge of delivery platforms coming to market and an ever-increasing need for last-mile delivery drivers in today’s gig economy. The company’s hiring boom is also being fueled by a surge in e-commerce buying. A...

Destination Irvine Looks to Sports Groups to Lead Hotel Recovery

Wednesday, February 10, 2021

During 2020—a tumultuous year for the travel and tourism industry—Destination Irvine (a division of the Greater Irvine Chamber) was faced with a monumental task: to continue bringing groups to Irvine to support the community’s economic vitality. Despite California’s COVID-19 restrictions, which are stricter than any other states’ and include crippling restrictions for groups of any size to gather, and a lack of guidelines as to what hotel-based meetings and sports tournaments will look like in the months ahead, Destination Irvine found opportunities to bring visitors to Irvine. But it’s been an uphill battle. Prior to March 2020, Destination Irvine was on pac...

Concordia University Irvine Exceeds Comprehensive Campaign Goal Topping $100 Million

Monday, February 01, 2021

Concordia University Irvine (CUI) today announced the successful completion of its comprehensive campaign exceeding $100 million and surpassing its original goal of $85 million, making it the largest campaign in the University’s history. Launched in 2013, Forward in Faith—The Campaign for Concordia focused on new facilities, scholarships, academic programs, and the University’s endowment. “To witness donors place their confidence in our academic tradition and in our Concordia family in this way is both remarkable and historic,” said Dr. Michael Thomas who became Concordia University Irvine’s fifth president January 2020. “Celebrating this accomplishment, however, during the current circumstances of our state and countr...

OCTA Plans New $38 Million Operations Facility

Monday, February 01, 2021

(Orange County Register) The Orange County Transportation Authority plans to move its security, dispatching, and emergency operations from Garden Grove to a new facility that will be built in Anaheim next to the 5 freeway. The $38 million, 32,000-square-foot building, known as the Transit Security and Operations Center, or TSOC, will be put on a 2.9-acre property at Lincoln Avenue and North Manchester Avenue. It will replace a three-decades-old facility that was not designed to accommodate emergency services or today’s technology, and that doesn’t have enough space, said Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do, who chairs OCTA’s board. Trying to retrofit and maintain the ol...

Two H Mart Stores Expected in 2021 Will Bring Irvine’s Total to Three

Monday, February 01, 2021

(Orange County Register) Irvine will have two more H Mart supermarkets by year’s end when the Korean-American chain lands at Northpark Plaza and Westpark Plaza, bringing the city’s total to three. The stores are replacing Albertsons, which are due to close by the end of February. H Mart, which has an anchor location at Diamond Jamboree, offers a large selection of traditional Asian food plus the usual pantry essentials. The market is known for its kimchi bar, a selection of pickled and spiced cabbage. It also has an array of produce and fresh fish. The stores at Northpark Plaza and Westpark Plaza will span mor...

312-Apartment Complex Approved for Commercial Park Near John Wayne Airport

Saturday, January 30, 2021

(Orange County Register) Plans to make the commercial area near John Wayne Airport a bit more residential and reflect the rest of the seaside town’s look and feel is moving forward. On Tuesday, the Newport Beach City Council gave the OK for a local developer to begin work on a proposed 312-apartment building that will be stacked over an underground parking garage in the Koll Center Business Park. The project was approved unanimously 6-0, with Councilman Will O’Neill recusing himself because he is a member of the Pacific Club located nearby. The project will go back before the council on Feb. 9 fo...

Linda DiMario Joins Octane Team

Thursday, January 14, 2021

Octane has contracted with Linda DiMario to serve as Director of Community Engagement leading Octane Foundation for Innovation. In this role, DiMario will manage four key initiatives under OFI including STEM Fellows, Non-Profit Accelerator, NextGen, and Women Leaders of Octane. All were initiated during 2018-2019 and significant in the development of the Orange County innovation ecosystem. Recently retired as Executive Vice President of the Greater Irvine Chamber, DiMario is well established in the community. She continues to serve the Chamber as an economic development consultant. “I am excited to work with Octane, their very talented leadership, team, and Board to grow th...

California's Newest Small Business Relief Programs Announced

Wednesday, December 02, 2020

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a New Small Business Relief package of assistance for small businesses impacted by COVID-19, including sales tax relief, $500 million in grants, and an additional $12.5 million added to the California Rebuilding Fund. If you are a small business or nonprofit interested in the $500 million grant program, the California's Office of the Small Business Advocate is working quickly to establish the program; for updates, sign up here. As businesses across the state face challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the opening of the California Rebuilding Fund to help impacted small businesses rebuild from the economic crisi...

Irvine's Great Park to Welcome New Community of Single-Family Homes

Thursday, July 30, 2020

(Orange County Register) Irvine’s Great Park residential community will get 38 new houses with starting prices planned in the mid-$1 million range. The New Home Co. will build the Atlas community — single-family homes ranging from 3,360 to 3,647 square feet with up to five bedrooms and five bathrooms — at the Rise neighborhood at the Great Park Neighborhoods. Sales are expected to begin in early 2021. The home building industry has been adapting to rapidly changing homebuyer tastes. In recent years, a preference for smaller, more-affordable housing nudged many developers to create smaller residences. But the ongoing pandemic that forced many families to spend more time at hom...

Irvine Gateway Experts Webinar Series Continues the Work of the Greater Irvine Chamber’s Foreign Direct Investment Initiatives

Wednesday, July 15, 2020

While the Greater Irvine Chamber continues to build on the momentum of its foreign direct investment programs, the work is being reimagined as the world responds to disruptions caused by the Coronavirus crisis. To continue to offer expansion-ready U.K. life science and technology companies with the information they need to make the decision to expand to Irvine/Orange County, the Chamber offers advice provided by experts in their field through the Irvine Gateway Experts webinar series. Topics include: VISAs and Immigration Organizational Preparedness U.S. Healthcare Market Entry International Banking FDA Approval Workforce Development Credits and State Incentives Funding and Capital Networks Taxes Legal Considerations for Establishing a Business in the U.S. OCTANE LaunchPad Accelerator To access the Irvine Gateway Experts webinar series, visit irvineglobalmarkets.com/foreign-direct-investment/irvine-ready-gateway The Greater Irvine Chamber remains connecte...

OCO Global, a Valued Partner of the Greater Irvine Chamber

Wednesday, July 01, 2020

In 2017, the Greater Irvine Chamber made an audacious decision to conduct an aggressive foreign direct investment (FDI) campaign in the U.K. We knew we had successful and happy international companies in Irvine. And we knew that we had the assets and an exciting, innovative ecosystem here. What we needed was an independent professional evaluation of our proposed initiative targeting the life science sector in the United Kingdom. Enter OCO Global. For 20 + years, OCO Global has been working with cities, states, and economic development organizations to help build and execute successful strategies to attract international investment. Choosing them to wor...

Member of the Month Archive

Subscribe for our updates

Back to Portal