FivePoint Under Pressure to Begin Attending Great Park Board Meetings; Numerous Items on July 28th Agenda

  • July 27, 2020, 9:00 am America/Los_Angeles

On Tuesday, July 28th, the Great Park Board will take a look at the progress going on in the park as well as future projects. This will be one of the last meetings for Great Park Executive Director John Russo, who is leaving in September for family reasons. The Board has not yet publicly discussed how they plan to fill this key leadership role.

Unlike last month, will FivePoint be available to attend this meeting?

FivePoint is the development partner for a large portion of the Great Park. At the May meeting, the Board unanimously approved Director Shea’s motion to ask FivePoint to attend all future board meetings. Shea stated, “I would like them here every month talking about what they are doing and giving us updates. That’s the way we used to do it… The public wants to know… I want to know what’s going on.”

Currently, FivePoint communicates with city staff and staff holds briefings with the individual directors. Director Shea noted that because the Board is a public agency, the public has the right to hear what they are working on in an open manner. The lengthy discussion was prompted last month when it was mentioned that FivePoint is reevaluating their plans for the water polo and fieldhouse facilities in the Western Sector due to COVID-19.

In addition to the July Development Report, the agenda includes:

  1. Renewal for the Great Park’s environmental insurance coverage
  2. Presentation on revenue generating sponsorship opportunities at the Great Park (Chair Farrah Khan and Director Mike Carroll serve on the city Sponsorship Program subcommittee).

Read the July 2020 Development Report below:

GP DevReport - JULY2020

 

What is not in the report or site map is any mention of the 18-hole golf course or replacement recreation amenity.  The public golf course was part of the original adjacent landowner agreement between the city and FivePoint. The agreement allocated approximately $18 million from FivePoint for this feature. On behalf of the city residents, FivePoint is legally bound to invest in the design and construction of a 688-acre portion of the Great Park in return for the right to build additional homes in the surrounding Great Park Neighborhoods. So far, FivePoint has completed the following phases: the large multi-sports complex, the 1.5 mile walking and bike trail in the bosque, and the wildlife corridor. However, the golf course amenity is still pending further discussion.

FivePoint Projects 

  • FivePoint Pop-Up Village — 10,000 square feet of small dining spaces, storage, and restrooms built using repurposed cargo containers. These structures will be owned and maintained by FivePoint on land owned by FivePoint, adjacent to the Great Park Sports Complex.
  • FivePoint-City Partnership Projects:
    • Proposed Great Park Boulevard extension (preliminary concept phase)
    • Removal of runways
    • Great Park maintenance facility

Great Park Sectors 

  • Northern — The California Fire Museum and Joint Training Facility projects are both in review phase.
  • Western — The Board will review a proposal to add five additional volleyball courts to the existing five courts in the Sports Complex. More courts would allow the GP to host tournaments. Pretend City Children’s Museum is a pending project and on schedule.
  • Southern/Cultural Terrace — This sector includes land available now for development as well as 150-acres that requires environmental cleanup. The unavailable land is referred to as “Lease in Furtherance of Conveyance” (LIFOC).
    • Wild Rivers and the auxiliary parking lot are in process and on schedule.

Proposed Projects Inventory

This is a list of 15 projects that were identified during city planning sessions, public outreach, and unsolicited proposals. No funding or final site locations were identified. However, many are conceptually slated for the Cultural Terrace.

The Great Park Board meeting this Tuesday, July 28 will begin at 2pm. It will be live on Cox channel 30 and livestreamed online at cityofirvine.org/ictv. Click here to submit an eComment.