| Orange County Great Park | |
|---|---|
The El Toro airfield in 1993 |
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| Type | Regional park |
| Location | Irvine, California |
| Area | 27.5 acres (11.1 ha) (eventually 1,347 acres (545 ha)) |
| Created | July 14, 2007 |
| Operated by | Orange County Great Park Corporation, city of Irvine |
| Status | opened and under development |
| Website | http://www.ocgp.org/ |
The Orange County Great Park is the official name of a plan for the public, non-aviation reuse of the decommissioned Marine Corps Air Station El Toro in Irvine, California. The county park will comprise just 28.8% (1,347 acres (5.45 km2)) of the 4,682 acres (18.95 km2) total that made up the old MCAS El Toro base. It is a $1.1 billion project approved by the voters of Orange County in 2002. The park opened its first attraction, a balloon (designed by Aerophile SA) ride that takes visitors to 500 feet (150 m) for a panoramic view of the construction of the park as well as views of the county, on July 14, 2007.[1] A second attraction, the Kids Rock playground, opened on July 10, 2010.
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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 (11 km) apart; however the El Toro Marine Station is not a commercial airport and the nearest commercial airport to John Wayne is Ontario Airport over 30 miles (48 km) away. Concern also was expressed regarding the safety of the proposed airport since commercial aircraft would have to take off over mountain terrain where one major military transport crash had occurred over 50 years prior.
The re-use of the air station was voted on by the residents of Orange County four times. When it was announced that the airport would revert to civilian use in the early 1990s, citizens near the airport immediately opposed any continued use of the site for aviation purposes. However, in the late 1990s a majority of Orange County voters approved the use of the site for commercial aviation. In March 2000, opponents of the airport, mostly residents of wealthier Southern Orange County and who would be directly in the proposed flight paths, were able to qualify for the ballot "Measure F," which required that any new construction of jails, landfills or airports would require a 2/3 majority vote. With a large financial backing and a fear of "NIMBYism" a resounding 67.3% of voters passed Measure F, effectively killing the potential airport project. In 2001, Orange County voters passed "Measure W" authorizing the former air station's use as a Central Park/Nature Preserve and multi-use development. The measure passed with 58% of the vote due to the lack of any other viable alternatives for the former site since the airport concept was effectively killed a year earlier.
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.
Following the annexation of the property, the Department of the Navy held an online auction for the El Toro property. Miami- based Lennar Corporation purchased the entire property for $649,500,000 and entered into a development agreement with the City of Irvine. Under the terms of the development agreement, Lennar was granted limited development rights to build the Great Park Neighborhoods in return for land and capital that will allow the construction of the Great Park.
The agreement required Lennar to deed 1,347 acres (5.45 km2) to public ownership and contribute $200 million towards the development of the Great Park. Future property owners will contribute an additional $200 million toward the park's development.
The Great Park Plan focuses on the 1,347 acres (5.45 km2) public of the property and includes a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) canyon, a 26-acre (110,000 m2) lake, botanical gardens, a cultural terrace, lawns, performing arts venues, a sports park, and a wildlife corridor connecting the Cleveland National Forest to the Laguna Coast Wilderness. At 1,347 acres (5.45 km2), the Great Park will be larger than New York's Central Park, San Francisco's Golden Gate Park and San Diego's Balboa Park.
When completed, the park will be the largest municipal park in Orange County. The original plan for the infrastructure of the Great Park was virtually identical to Newport Center, with five roads connecting into a central loop road separating the park into "blocks". The design was later modified to include a large section of runway and conform more to the layout of the original base, as a reminder of its history. Most prominent in the park plans is the restoration of Agua Chinon Creek, which had been channeled underground ever since the base was built in the 1940s.
Recently however, in the midst of a U.S. housing crisis, Lennar has struggled to fulfill its part of the bargain, including delayed construction of planned housing and of a 'community facilities district'.[2]
In addition to trees that will be moved and replanted on the base, Southern California Edison has committed to contributing 50,000 trees to the Great Park.
The Canyon
Cultural Terrace
Botanical Garden
Sports Park
Wildlife Corridor
Veteran's Memorial
Golf Course