The West Coast's answer to Central Park

The Orange County Great Park in Irvine is one of the largest future developments coming to Southern California and promises to be one of its finest.  Great Park will be a combination of public and private real estate development, with the centerpiece being a 1,300-acre central park that will become the West Coast's answer to New York's famous Central Park.  The Orange County Great Park Corporation is heading the efforts to build the central park that gives this Irvine neighborhood its name, and FivePoint Communities, Inc. will be in charge of the private residential and commercial developments that will surround the park.

Location

Site of the former El Toro Marine base

The Great Park neighborhood is being developed on approximately 4,000 acres of natural space that was the former site of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.  Great Park will be in the southeastern area of Irvine and will enjoy a close proximity to Irvine Spectrum and the various business and retail centers in that area.

Real Estate

Mixture of residential and commercial developments

The real estate portion of Great Park will be a combination of residential communities and commercial space.  The plan is to build around the central Great Park so that the residents and business owners in this area will enjoy all of the amenities offered by this large public project.  Great Park real estate will consist of nearly 5,000 homes and approximately 5.2 million square feet of commercial space.  Great Park homes will be built in three distinct master-planned communities and will boast the latest modern features and some of the largest lots in all of Irvine.  Construction of the first Great Park homes is scheduled to begin in 2013.

Features and Amenities

Great Park will earn its name

The centerpiece of the Great Park neighborhood will, of course, be the park itself.  The Orange County Great Park Corporation, comprised of five Irvine City Council members and four independent directors, will work with over 1,300 acres of land to create one of the most incredible parks in the United States, one that may surpass the beauty of New York's Central Park.  The scope of Great Park is enormous; the plans for developing the 1,300 acres would make the Orange County Great Park almost twice the size of Central Park.  There will be a variety of features within Great Park, including sports fields, an outdoor amphitheater, botanical gardens, a wildlife corridor, a 2-mile long Great Canyon that may be used for recreational activities, a veteran's memorial, and other features that will highlight the natural beauty of this area.  The first feature is already in place and has quickly become the unofficial symbol of Great Park - an orange helium balloon that carries people 500 feet into the air so that they may view the surrounding beauty of Great Park and the city of Irvine.  The city has also begun initial development of the park on 225 acres in the western part of Great Park, which is expected to be completed by 2012.  Features will be opened as they are completed, and those who would like to see the progress may take a ride in the balloon or visit Great Park's Farmers Market, which is open every Sunday from 10:00am to 2:00pm.