Great Park Development Update
Great Park Board Meeting | Tuesday, February 25th | 1pm in City Council Chambers
The City owned Great Park is governed by a five-member Board of Directors consisting of the five Irvine City Council members. With the multi-sports complex complete, the Board is figuring out what goes in the rest of the Great Park. Last October 2019, the Board started posting monthly development updates on the Great Park transparency portal: https://www.cityofirvine.org/transparency-portal
Below is a list of development projects before the Great Park Board.
Northern Area
The Northern Area is the former planned Golf Course Site.
- Botanical Gardens – The City and the Great Park Garden Coalition are working on identifying funding and design opportunities.
- California Fire Museum and Safety Learning Center – Pre-development status. Final direction and site location will come before the Board for approval.
- Joint Police and Fire Training Facility – a 40-acre site will come before the Board for location approval. This project includes the relocation of the Emergency Operations Center and new indoor/outdoor instructional facilities.
- State Veterans Cemetery – On July 23, 2019 the City Council designated 100 acres of land in the Great Park planned golf course area for a veterans cemetery. The State Department of Veterans Affairs is studying this site along with the original ARDA site to make a final site determination.
Western Sector
The Western Sector includes the Great Park Ice and FivePoint Arena that opened in January 2019, and is operated independently on property leased from the City for $1/yr.
- USA Water Polo facility*
- Field House*
- Parking structure*
- Pretend City Children’s Museum – A pre-development agreement and lease was approved by the City Council on 12/10/19. Pretend City is responsible for all planning, construction, operations, maintenance and capital costs. Initial lease term of 30 yrs. Annual rent to the city is $1.
- Great Park Administration building – First approved by the City Council in the FY 2016-17 budget. The building will provide facilities for staff who operate and support the Great Park. The project is in the design phase. Updated project costs and schedule will come back to the Board for approval.
*City owned projects that were approved on 10/22/19 by the City Council to be developed in partnership with FivePoint. The water polo and indoor volleyball/basketball facilities will be owned and maintained by the city and managed by professional operators. The parking facility will be owned, maintained, and operated by the city.
Cultural Terrace
The Cultural Terrace is the undeveloped area identified for culturally oriented amenities.
- Wild Rivers Water Park– The City and Wild Rivers are renegotiating the lease terms and identifying a new site. The City couldn’t use the site they originally identified because of transfer issues with the Navy.
- FivePoint Amphitheater – The City and Live Nation, the operator of the FivePoint Amphitheater, are in discussions for a permanent venue in the Great Park. The specifics of the proposal will come before the Board for approval.
- American Museum of Natural History – The museum is finalizing its analysis of development options for building in the Great Park. The Board will receive an update upon completion of the museum analysis.
The February agenda with links to the staff reports for each item can be found on the city’s website here.
