New buildings will rise at Irvine Spectrum Center

Feb. 21--The skeletons of three new buildings will rise at the Irvine Spectrum Center over the next several months until their completion this fall. The new building's occupants, including Sports Authority and various restaurants, plan to open in November.

A 45,000-square-foot building will stand near Dave and Buster's. Its retail space will be dominated by sports apparel and equipment retailer Sports Authority, with restaurants occupying smaller spaces. Two other buildings are under construction near Forever 21.

Visitors to the Spectrum, where parking is sometimes a challenge, will notice the buildings are going up on former parking lots. The shopping center still meets city requirements for parking space, said Mike Lyster, spokesman for the Irvine Co., which owns the center. Some spaces will be restored when construction ends, he said.

The construction is the product of increased demand for space at the center by merchants, coupled with guest demand for fresh shopping options, Lyster said. The Irvine Co. declined to release the cost of the project.

Also opening at the Spectrum, in April, is Motherhood Maternity, a shop featuring apparel for moms-to-be. Stella Laguna Beach, a fast-fashion apparel and accessory boutique, opens this summer.

-- Ian Wheeler

On the move

Lisa Castagnola has joined Santa Ana branch of Heffernan Insurance Brokers as assistant vice president. She was previously an account executive at Robert E. Harris Insurance Agency in Costa Mesa.

Jim Radzicki is the new chief information officer and senior vice president of information technology at Alorica, a customer management outsourcing firm in Irvine. He previously served as executive vice president and chief technology officer at Stream Global Services.

New ventures

Opus Bank in Irvine has launched three new ventures:

-- A new correspondent bank joins the company's retail, commercial and merchant banks. Sally Hazen joins the firm as senior vice president and president of correspondent banking. Hazen was previously a senior vice president at Union Bank.

-- Under its merchant bank, Opus added a corporate finance division to provide senior debt to lower middle market companies. Senior managing director Rick Lamoreux leads the new venture, joined by Bob Hanger, who is now managing director of the new division.

-- Opus also launched a private equity group, under its merchant bank, to raise capital for clients through the private placement of equity. Dale Cheney joins the company to lead the group as senior managing director. He was previously an investment principal at Altus Capital Partners.

American Advisors Group, a reverse mortgage company based in Orange, aims to boost its national field sales and call-center capabilities through an agreement to acquire New York-based mortgage lender Associated Mortgage Bankers. Eighty-five workers from the acquired company will join American Advisors, including Kevin Blakeney, who will become senior vice president of sales. Terms of the transaction, which requires licensing and regulatory approvals before it can close, were not made public.

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