In an age when American cities are adapting to new retail challenges and vying for jobs as if their future depended on them – because they do – Irvine has a not-so-secret weapon: the Sparkle Spectrum Zone.
A third of all Fortune 500 companies have offices here, while the burgeoning retail hub attracts 17 million visitors a year — about the same as Disneyland. Luxury apartments and new homes connect functionality, dining, entertainment and shopping with a vibrant blend of comfort, quality and pleasure.
The Irvine Spectrum, known locally as “Spectrum,” is the latest stage in the ongoing perfection of the Irvine Master Plan: the recognition that this town of villages required an economic engine and world attractions.
says Nate Sherry, director of urban planning at architecture and design firm Gensler, who credits Irvine’s master plan for success in living, working and playing.
Alan Hess, longtime resident, architect and author, calls Spectrum “Irvine’s 21st-century modernization of the traditional downtown.”
engine for growth
“There is a work-life balance in Spectrum that is hard to reach anywhere else,” says Mark Bell, CEO of Terran Orbital, the world’s leading manufacturer of nanosatellite. Bell, who chose Irvine as his company headquarters in 2013, says the amenities in the area are strengthening his hand in hiring new employees, helping his company grow.
Today, the vast majority of Terran Orbital’s international employees work in the 400 Spectrum office tower or its subsidiary factory, which is also located in Spectrum, and live within walking distance in luxury apartments.
“Everything here is so well planned that there’s no navigation,” Bell says. “We live, work and dine here, and we almost never leave. In my first six months here, I only passed half a tank of gas.”
Centered in Central Irvine, in the heart of Orange County, Spectrum has helped attract more desirable high-tech jobs to the region than anywhere else in North America, according to a recent report by real estate giant CBRE. Employers from tech hubs across the country—in a range of industries from finance to computer technology to life sciences—have recognized and valued Irvine’s carefully designed benefits.
“Irvine is the new Silicon Valley,” says Houlin Shen, associate professor of physics and astronomy at UC Irvine. “If you want to attract talent, this is the place.”
Major global corporations which include giant BlackBerry, Amazon and Blizzard Entertainment – best known for inventing World of Warcraft – have a firm foothold here, adding to the appeal of young companies with big ambitions.
“We live, work and dine here, and we almost never leave. In my first six months here, I only passed half a tank of gas.” Mark Bell, CEO of Terran Orbital, the world’s leading manufacturer of nanosatellite
Electric truck maker Rivian moved hundreds of tech jobs from Plymouth, Michigan, to Spectrum in early 2021, adding to the nearly 1,000 jobs that already existed here. The company said among its reasons were access to the best technical talent and proximity to the beach.
At home in the spectrum
One happy Rivian recruit is Bryan Shamasko, an engineer drawn by both the company’s innovative green brand and the perks of living at Spectrum.
His short trip to work — cut in half compared to his old job outside of Detroit — gives Shamasco, 27, and his girlfriend extra time to catch the sunset on the beach or explore the open spaces via paths that connect to their apartment community door and lead all the way to the Pacific Ocean. At home at Promenade Village Apartments, they can choose from four saltwater pools.
“It’s like living in a resort,” says Shamasco, recalling the 28-degree weather the day they left Michigan.
The Spectrum’s six luxury apartment complexes and stylish new homes are a major departure from traditional commercial districts, attracting employees who prefer to commute on foot or by bike, thus reducing local traffic.
Living in the area also puts you within walking distance of the Irvine Spectrum Center, with a dazzling array of dining, entertainment and shopping regulars along outdoor courtyards and courtyards landscaped with palms, olive trees, and Italian cypresses.
Success begets success
Over the years, the Spectrum Center’s unique energy has helped many of its tenants thrive in and out of Irvine.
“We put the center of the spectrum on the map,” says Fairlie Payne, owner and chef at Hudsons Cookies. After a transplant in New York City with a previous career selling financial software, Payne opened a store in the mall in March 2021 and was delighted with the traffic and sales.
“Being at Spectrum is like being on the 50-yard line,” she says. “There’s no other place where you can get that kind of traffic, and people tell us they follow the scent of our bread to our door.”
Pine’s success in Irvine has caught the interest of other mall owners, and she says she is now in “several conversations” with them as she plans the next expansion. She joins many other retailers whose Spectrum Hub location has boosted their prospects.
“It’s all about quality, with so many conscious decisions about landscape and color that people have spent so much time and energy on — and it shows.” – Nate Cherry, Gensler
PF Chang’s, which now has about 300 restaurants worldwide, was one of the first to open at Spectrum when the center debuted in 1995.
Oakley, which today has nearly 200 stores in the United States and Canada, opened its first brick-and-mortar location at the Spectrum Center in 1999.
The Apple Store, launched in the center in 2006, has been moved and expanded 12 years later to become one of the brand’s most stunning locations, with an all-glass exterior on a giant fountain. “This store is pretty much second to none and could only happen at Spectrum, the way it was designed with the integration of the public spaces,” says Cherry.
When the center’s upscale Mexican restaurant Javier opened in 2004, it was only the second of five restaurants on the West Coast owned by Javier Sosa, a former dishwasher who immigrated from Tijuana at age 18. Sosa’s daughter, Silvia, who runs Spectrum Center. restaurant, she remembers having lunch at the Center with her father in the late 1990s. “Even back then, he loved the spectrum,” she says. “He was saying: I want this site!”
Last year, the restaurant doubled the size of its outdoor patio, where guests can dine amid birds of paradise plants, banana trees, and palms.
Don’t call it a mall – an industry-appropriate term is “lifestyle center,” since Spectrum Center offers so much more than just shopping. Green Street Advisors, a real estate firm, ranks the center among the few similar places in the country for an A-plus-plus rating, based on factors including merchant success, foot traffic, store quality, and curb appeal.
“It’s a really carefully curated retail environment,” says Cherry with Gensler. “It’s all about quality, with so many conscious decisions about landscape and color that people have spent so much time and energy on — and it shows.”
Unparalleled energy
Many Irvine residents find the center of the frequency spectrum to be the background to their social life, regardless of their life stage.
The range of entertainment options includes the 21-screen Regal Irvine Spectrum, America’s most successful Regal theater, and one of the country’s most successful comedy clubs, the Irvine Improv.
The main attraction is ‘leisure shopping’, including weekend exercise classes, activities for young children, an ice rink for winter holidays and an ever-changing team of musical artists.
16-year-old Ava August, who has been singing and playing music in public since the age of 10, remembers her first center party, when she was still in the sixth grade.
“It was one of those surreal moments because when I was singing, a huge crowd started forming – like 50 or 60 people – and it just reinforced how much I love music,” she says.
Within another year, on August 13, “The Voice” was auditioned. She has since appeared on “American Idol” and accepted crowds at the Los Angeles Rams, Lakers, Dodgers, and Kings & Angels. But she’s also returned to the center of the spectrum dozens of times to sing and play ukulele, guitar, and piano on the patio outside Old Navy.
“On summer nights, the courtyard is filled with people listening, dancing, and crowding around,” August says. “The energy in the Spectrum is unparalleled.”
