The Nation's Newest And Largest Park

A former military base in southern California is being turned into one of nation's largest municipal parks.

1 minute read

April 24, 2003, 9:00 AM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"In Orange County, the final hurdle has been cleared for a "County Great Park" that will exceed the size of Central Park and Golden Gate Park put together. The massive park (4,738 acres), located in the former El Toro Air Base, will include riparian corridors and botanical gardens as well as facilities for sports and educational uses. And green space - lots of it - left over for other large urban parks... The project is also being touted as a win-win model for the private sell-off of other US bases that were closed in the 1990s. The existing El Toro base will be auctioned off to the highest bidders - in this case, four large parcels - and the result is expected to end the political and bureaucratic wrangling that has plagued this, and other base communities, following base closings."

Thanks to Edmelynne Villanueva

Wednesday, April 23, 2003 in The Christian Science Monitor

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