Developments are going according to plan for Irvine’s Gateway Preserve, city officials said in a recent update for the City Council.
The proposed housing and open space project results from Irvine’s eight-figure purchase last year of the now-shuttered All-American Asphalt plant, for years the target of complaints about smells and air pollution from the north Irvine neighborhoods that grew up around it and the city.
Irvine’s land purchase combined with surrounding land the city already owned, plus donated land from the Irvine Company, will result in an accessible nature preserve roughly 711 acres large. The preserve will connect the Jeffrey Open Space Trail with Limestone Canyon, Blackstar Canyon and the Cleveland National Forest.
Another 70 acres will go toward the Gateway Village, which officials say will most likely be the city’s last planned single-family residential village as Irvine approaches build-out conditions.
This spring, city leaders approved selling the 70 acres to real estate developer Brookfield, which could pay Irvine up to $654 million for the land, depending on the final deal.
On Tuesday, the council approved the next phase of that housing deal with Brookfield, setting into motion a monthslong period during which the two parties will move forward with environmental reviews and entitlements, while also finalizing all necessary transactional documents.
Brookfield will proceed with site planning efforts that will also include the various parks, amenities, trails, streets and other infrastructure, staff said.
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This fall, they expect to have a draft resource and recreation management plan to submit to wildfire agencies for review before the end of the year.
Residents and Councilmember Tammy Kim asked whether increased wildfire risk in the foothills of the dry Santa Ana Mountains could adversely affect the valuation of the proposed homes as California homeowners see exorbitant insurance rate hikes due to risks associated with climate change.
City Manager Oliver Chi assured councilmembers that this has been factored into the city’s calculations for projected revenue from the development when homes are sold from 2027 through 2030. Home construction will start in 2026.
Overall, the city expects the Gateway Village to include about 930 market-rate homes, probably worth about $600 million to $675 million to the city, a staffer said. The revenue is helping fund the property purchase and development of the preserve.
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