Old Town Irvine is not in the heart of the Orange County city of 98,000, but the formerly ramshackle structures at Sand Canyon Avenue and the Santa Ana Freeway are attracting upscale shoppers who like the idea of a hotel made out an old lima bean silo and a fast-food place made from a blacksmith shop.
The $20-million project is being developed on 6.5 acres contributed by the Irvine Co., a partner in the project with Robert B. Smith, James W. Ray, Michael D. Ray and Bernice Anglea. The developers had to walk a fine line between the yuppies of Orange County and the Marines from the nearby El Toro Air Base, not to mention the residents of Leisure World in Laguna Hills.
