Community Friendly to Pedestrians, Transit

IRVINE, CA-The Great Park Neighborhoods—a master-planned community on which, as GlobeSt.com reported earlier today, FivePoint Communities Management Inc. is beginning development this month—is intended to become a pedestrian- and transit-friendly community surrounding the Orange County Great Park. The community is set to include 23 miles of walking and biking trails that will connect the neighborhoods to a commuter train station, schools, retail shops and nearby Cleveland National Forest as well as the Great Park itself.

As GlobeSt.com has reported recently, these live/work/play environments are the current trend in community and city planning.

According to FivePoint's CEO Emile Haddad, there are several collaborations involved with the community's development. The roster of builders includes K. Hovnanian Homes, Lennar, William Lyon Homes, Pulte Homes, Richmond American Homes, Ryland Homes, Shea Homes and Taylor Morrison.

“With a new community of this magnitude, there is significant collaboration and numerous development activities in motion at any given time,” said Haddad in a prepared statement. “Not only are we already planning the next phase to be announced in 2014, but Heritage Fields is jointly building infrastructure with the City of Irvine along Trabuco Rd. to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of visitors expected to attend the US Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon at the Orange County Great Park in October.”

Heritage Fields will fund the infrastructure development of the Great Park though an agreement with the City of Irvine that calls for approximately $383 million in infrastructure improvements. Heritage Fields additionally will cover a portion of the ongoing costs of the Great Park's operation, estimated at several million dollars a year.

Haddad added that such a unique opportunity to develop property that is rich in history rarely comes along, particularly one that is located in the heart of Orange County with easy access to jobs and transportation. “We are creating a place where people can connect with each other and nature and embrace the best aspects of Southern California.”

GlobeSt.com was unable to reach Haddad prior to deadline to discuss the unique aspects of the Great Park Neighborhoods.