Building History

Chevron Land and Development, a subsidiary of the ChevronTexaco Corporation, initially developed this 92-acre apartment community, containing 115 residential units, ranging in size from 726 to 1040 square feet in size. All of these units were earmarked for low-income residents and contained one, two and three-bedroom apartments. This affordable housing project began asChevron Land and Development planned its nearby La Floresta Village mixed-use development, once on the site of the Union Oil Company of California's Research Center, completed in 1951. In order for Chevron to go forward with a project on the scale of La Floresta Village, it also had to set aside a certain number of housing units to accommodate low-income residents. As a result, Chevron gave a 5.8 acre-parcel to a nonprofit builder of affordable housing, the Jamboree Housing Corporation, to build Birch Hills.

The Brea Redevelopment Agency kicked in $4.2 million in funds to pay for the construction of Burch Hills, and Orange County provided $1 million in tax incentives. Jamboree broke ground for the community on 10/22/2012, finishing the project by 10/2013. An article on the recently opened housing development in the Orange County Register cited Eric Nicoll, Brea’s Community Development Director: "Brea, Nicoll said, likes to have a mix of differently priced houses so that those who work at the many businesses in the city can afford to live in Brea as well. The benefits, he said, are threefold: Having people work and live in the same city reduces traffic congestion; the quality of life increases for those residents by giving them more free time in the evening and, because of the nature of affordable housing, more discretionary spending; and because the city’s economy is dependant on businesses, it needs a steady supply of qualified, educated workers also living in Brea." (See Chris Haire, Orange County Register.com, "Affordable housing development opens near Birch golf course," published 11/07/2013, accessed 09/30/2019.)

Building Notes

The Birch Hills Apartments stood at 255 Kraemer Circle, Brea, CA 92821. (The site also had the address of 225 North Kraemer Boulvard.) Tel: 714.605.7560 (2019).

PCAD id: 23126