Orange County Great Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Orange County Great Park is the unofficial name of a plan for the private ownership and non-aviation reuse of the decommissioned El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in Irvine, California.
Contents |
[edit] Original plan
The former air station was initially planned for development into a major international airport. Opponents of the plan challenged the need for two airports in Orange County (El Toro and John Wayne Airport) only 7 miles apart. Concern also was expressed regarding the safety of the proposed airport since commercial aircraft would have to take off over mountain terrain where at least one major military transport crash had occurred.
[edit] Park plan
In 2002, after lengthy debate that lasted for over a dozen years, Orange County voters rejected the commercial airport plan and designated the land for park compatible uses. The history of the controversy is chronicled online by the El Toro Info Site[1]and in a book, Internet for Activists.
In November 2003, the city of Irvine annexed the air station property and was thus able to determine the Great Park's future by zoning.
The Great Park plan will divide about 5000 acres (20 km²) into a mix of wilderness parks, developed parks, schools, residential, business, farms and museums. The actual park space is approximately 1,749 acres, making it larger than New York's Central Park, San Francisco's Golden Gate Park and San Diego's Balboa Park. $401 million has been set aside for the park.
When completed, the park will connect the Cleveland National Forest in the east with the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park in the west. The layout for the infrastructure of the Great Park is virtually identical to Newport Center, with five roads connecting into a central loop road separating the park into "blocks".
[edit] Designing team
Prominent New York City landscape architect Ken Smith has been chosen to design the park. His team will include:
- Enrique Norten, Architect for Ten Arquitectos
- Mia Lehrer, Landscape designer for Mia Lehrer + Associates
- Craig Michael Schwitter, Engineering design for Buro Happold
- Stevel Handel, Ecologist
