"Our market has changed quite a bit," Bryon Ward of Burnham-Ward Properties told the Orange County Register in January. He was explaining why the Laguna Niguel City Center plan had been cut back. That same story said the project would break ground in summer and that heavy site work would start at the end of the year.
It's mid-October now, and the former South County Justice Center at Crown Valley Parkway and Alicia Parkway is still boarded up. Ask why and you'll usually hear about City Hall. But City Hall finished its part this summer. What's left is a loan, a construction contract and a County lease, and none of the three can happen without the other two.
Every City approval is already in hand
The project has been moving in stages since the justice center closed in 2008. Here are the steps that count, in order:
- June 4, 2019. The Orange County Board of Supervisors chose Laguna Niguel Town Center Partners, a partnership of Burnham-Ward Properties and Sares Regis Group, as developer. It also approved a 79-year ground lease.
- July 19, 2022. The City's project approvals were finalized.
- December 2, 2025. The County approved a revised ground lease that runs 89 years, with total estimated lease payments to the County of about $452 million.
- May 28, 2026. The City approved a Changed Plan with an updated site plan, grading, elevations and landscaping.
- June 2, 2026. The City Council voted 5-0 to approve Final Tract Map No. 19024 and the Subdivision Improvement Agreement. Council Member Oddo said a groundbreaking was expected in September.
- June 16, 2026. The final map was recorded, creating the individual legal lots and easements the project needs.
- June 2026. The City extended the Site Development Permit and Use Permit by 18 months, to December 21, 2027.
That list ends with the City side wrapped up and the permits good through late 2027. The remaining decisions belong to the County, which owns the land, and to the developer's lenders and contractor.
Signing the County lease depends on financing and a construction contract
A County staff report prepared for the Board of Supervisors' September 29, 2026 meeting lays out where things stand. The developer told the County that the final map and Changed Plan "were more complex and time consuming" than it expected. It now needs more time "to acquire Project financing, prepare construction drawings, and negotiate the construction contract with the general contractor" before it can sign the ground lease. The current deadline for signing is December 2, 2026.
The County's proposed fix is a First Amendment to the option agreement with two more extensions available. The fees for those extensions are still being negotiated. A County real estate email dated September 28 says the developer sent back a redlined version the day before the meeting asking to lower them:
| Extension | Window | County's proposed fee | Developer's requested fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sixth Extended Option Period | December 2, 2026 to June 1, 2027 | $80,000 | $50,000 |
| Seventh Extended Option Period | June 1, 2027 to September 1, 2027 | $50,000 | $25,000 |
The developer's stated reason is to sign the ground lease on the same day it closes financing and signs the construction contract, since both have to happen before construction can begin. In practice, that means no single piece moves until all three are ready.
Delay is not new on this site. The County extended the option three times in 2025 alone. The first, in May, ran it to September 2. The second, in August, ran it to December 2. The third came in December, when the County approved the amended agreement with 12 more months. If both new extensions are approved and used, the option period would run about two years and three months past the original June 2025 deadline.
The County report spells out the cost to the County. Every delay in signing the lease "further delays the commencement of rent to the County."
Why the first thing you see may be fencing, not demolition
This is the part of the amendment that will show up on the street first. The report says lease signing and heavy demolition "may be delayed from December 2026 to September 2027." It also says the developer maintains the project's expected construction completion date has not changed, because some on-site preconstruction work will now happen during the option term instead of after the lease is signed.
That work is spelled out. The developer would have to handle "remediation of the pre-existing hazardous materials, site fencing, tree removal, and other items, at its sole cost and expense." If remediation doesn't start within four weeks after "a groundbreaking event," the developer would owe the County $10,000 a week in liquidated damages until it does. That penalty is disputed too. The same September 28 County email says the developer's redline struck the clause entirely. It also gives the groundbreaking event a date of October 21. The County's version also raises the minimum insurance limits to cover that early work.
If the County's version passes, fencing, tree removal and cleanup could come before the buildings go. Demolition of the old justice center could wait as long as next September.
Two things are still unconfirmed. The research for this post found no City or County announcement saying a groundbreaking ceremony was held in September, as the June Council minutes had anticipated. The only later date in the record is the October 21 date mentioned in that County email, and no public event notice was found to confirm it. The developer's own project page still says only: "The project is anticipated to commence in late 2026." And although the developer says its completion date hasn't moved, none of the City, County or developer sources reviewed gives a completion date.
The redesign was meant to make the project financeable
The financing step matters because the plan was rebuilt around it. According to the Orange County Register, the earlier plan included 158,000 square feet of commercial space, 77,000 of it office. Office is now 15,000 square feet, an 81% cut, and retail is set at 110,000 square feet. The two-story parking structure planned in 2019 is gone, replaced by surface parking. Ward told the Register the changes were meant "to reduce the intensity of the project in order to simplify it, reduce construction costs, and enhance the viability of the project."
The County report describes the same Changed Plan the same way: it emphasizes retail and restaurants, keeps medical and wellness uses, and reworks the layout around the park and library. It adds that, according to the developer, "the Project is now financially viable" because of the final map and the Changed Plan together. Whether a lender agrees is what the coming months will show.
Here is what the current plan includes:
- 275 apartments built by Sares Regis Group, with one- to three-bedroom units and townhouses described as having "resort-like amenities"
- Retail and a new County library of roughly 16,300 square feet, both designed and built by Burnham-Ward
- A central Town Green connected by landscaped paseos, with possible programming in the City's environmental report such as farmers markets, art shows, live music, food-and-wine festivals, yoga and outdoor movies
The developer describes Burnham-Ward as focused on "culinary and food-related venues, especially local chef-driven concepts." Burnham-Ward is also leading the landside retail and restaurant work at the Dana Point Harbor rebuild, another County ground-lease project. The estimated cost has grown too. The Register put it at $210 million in 2019 and about $260 million now.
The questions with no public answer yet
The longer the gap between fencing and demolition, the more these open items matter to people who use the site today:
| Question | What the record says | What's missing |
|---|---|---|
| The current library | The City's January 2022 library FAQ says site-wide grading "would therefore necessitate utilization of an interim library solution." The developer says it will work with the County on an interim location. | No closure date or temporary location has been announced |
| OCFA Fire Station No. 5 | The 2022 environmental report leaves the station out of the project's land-use and zoning changes and lists repaving of its drive aprons and parking lot | No statement on how the station operates during construction |
| Restaurants and shops | The environmental report lists prospective categories such as restaurants, markets, coffee and specialty food | No tenants have been named |
The Board of Supervisors did not vote on the amendment on September 29. The summary action minutes record it as "BOARD ORDER, CONTINUED TO 10/13/26, 9:30 A.M." A County real estate email dated September 28 says the item was continued "at District Five's request." It now appears as item 11 on the Board's October 13, 2026 agenda. That vote will settle whether the site can stay in the option stage until September 1, 2027, what the extensions cost, and whether a weekly penalty backs up the early fencing and cleanup.
If you own near Crown Valley and Alicia, or you're weighing a home within walking distance of the future Town Green, the timing of this project affects your plans as much as the renderings do. At Erich Redder, we follow the County record so we can help you think through what a downtown that could arrive in 2027 or later means for your decision. Schedule a Consultation and we'll go through it with you.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
