Great Park in California begins 30-acre expansion
The Orange County Great Park Corporation in Irvine, California has embarked on a $22.8 million project to expand Great Park.
The project revolves around the expansion of the Great Park by 30-acres, which will be carried out by USS Cal Builders Incorporated. The project has been dubbed as Western Sector Park Development Plan.
The Western Sector Park Development Plan will create South Lawn, permanent Visitors Center, Community Garden and build six new ponds (the first water feature of the Great Park). The project also involves expansion of Walkable Historical Timeline.
The South Lawn will expand the Great Park's sports programs and will accommodate four tournament-quality soccer fields, of which two will have synthetic grass and lighting for facilitating evening games. The other facilities to be developed as a part of the scheme include four full-size basketball courts, a new restroom and operations facility building, jogging and exercise trail. Plan also involves plantation of more than 400 tree saplings.
New Visitors Center Pavilion will be a 5,000 square feet facility that will replace the existing temporary Visitors Center. The new centre will be located near the Great Park Balloon and will be the first permanent building of the Great Park. The centre will have a large lobby, restroom facilities, concession area, exhibition areas and office space.
The expansion of the Walkable Historical Timeline will enlarge the existing 750-feet historical walk through history, to reach 2,604 feet. The expanded walkway will feature more than 100 new historical details. The extension will also serve as a natural connection between the existing Great Park Balloon and the South Lawn. The Walkable Historical Timeline will also connect to one of the six ponds and have a viewing pier near the entrance to the Great Park.
The South Lawn will also have an advanced storm water management system, which will capture, filter and store storm water in the new ponds. The water reclaimed from the system will assist in meeting up to 40% of the irrigation requirements of the South Lawn.
The project will also develop a Community Garden, adjacent to the existing Farm + Food Lab. The garden will feature 99 plots (including six ADA compliant plots), an open turf area with picnic tables. Construction is likely to begin in mid-2012 and is planned to be completed in mid-to-late 2013.
