Great Park

Just four percent of Irvine's Great Park has been built in six years, compared to an early estimation that it would be completed in 10. Now, it may take 20. And it's no one's fault, writes Jeff Overley.

Nearly five years and $200 million in, contruction has barely begun on the Great Park of Orange County, planned to be as ambitious as New York's Central Park.

The Orange Country Great Park has received the official go-ahead, with a dedication of $65 million for the first phase of construction.

Ken Smith won an international design competition to turn a 1,300 acre former military base in Orange County, CA into an urban park to rival Central Park in NY. His plan is ambitious, and could be sunk by politics and finances.

This post from Governing looks at the long planning process of the Orange County Great Park, a 1,347 acre public park that's been in the works for 7 years. Comprehensive design plans were recently approved and construction is set to begin.

Three years after Irvine, California's "Great Park" was approved, development of the planned public spaces, homes and businesses has struggled to move forward. The housing crisis is being blamed for the lack of action.