Great Park

The newly unveiled comprehensive plan includes a botanical garden, museums, and a 22-acre lake system.

April 24, 2023 - The Architect's Newspaper

Landscape architect Ken Smith's bold vision for a Central Park-like open space in Irvine has been hobbled by funding shortfalls. Seeking a way to move forward, the city is considering cutting key elements in favor of a developer-led proposal.

November 12, 2013 - Los Angeles Times

Tony Barboza discusses how the disappearance of expected funding has dimmed the City of Irvine's vision for turning the decommissioned Marine Corps Air Station El Toro into "the first great metropolitan park of the 21st century."

October 31, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

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.

October 8, 2011 - Orange County Register

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.

May 19, 2010 - The Orange County Register

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

November 29, 2009 - The Architect's Newspaper

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.

October 2, 2009 - The Los Angeles Times

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.

May 23, 2009 - Governing

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.

April 17, 2008 - The Los Angeles Times