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Irvine officials have taken a step toward bringing retail and restaurants to the Great Park — a goal that residents have been waiting on for years — through a land swap with a local developer.
The council approved a land exchange with FivePoint Holdings, the city’s developer at the park. FivePoint is set to receive some parcels of land to develop new affordable housing, while the city is set to receive land to help create a retail center and connect the park to the nearby train station.
Council members approved the land swap last week with one condition.
The council, acting as the Great Park Board, voted unanimously to approve the land swap and conduct an appraisal before the properties are officially exchanged.
The city is set to give up 13.8 acres of land to the developer and receive 15.3 acres of land.
Even though the city is receiving more acres, city staff said they didn’t do any appraisal process to compare the dollar value of the properties.
That got the attention of a group of concerned citizens.
A law firm sent a letter to the city on behalf of the group of residents calling on officials to complete an appraisal to make sure the city was getting a good deal in the swap.
“Without greater transparency and a thorough public review of these land valuations, it is difficult to see how this proposal serves the interests of Irvine residents,” reads the letter dated Sept. 24.
Mayor Farrah Khan and Councilmember Mike Carroll agreed that an evaluation was needed during the Great Park Board meeting Tuesday afternoon.
“Getting a third-party appraisal is important and paramount in many ways to make sure you have fully run down the actual diligence,” Carroll said. “I do think a third-party appraisal would make good sense to get actual commercial appraisal of the land so we know what we’re giving over to the real estate developer FivePoint is in value to what we’re getting in return.”
Instead of completing a formal appraisal, the board directed staff to complete a real estate broker opinion of value to avoid time delays. That process will assess the land values in a shorter amount of time than a full appraisal.
Since the land swap takes 90 days to complete between approval and finalization, staff will acquire the land assessment before the exchange is completed.
“Even though the acreage may be more, it’s important to know that the value, the dollar amount, is equivalent,” Khan said.
Bringing Retail to the Great Park
The city has plans to use the newly acquired land to bolster shopping opportunities at the Great Park and connect the park to the nearby Irvine train station.
The council has been discussing bringing more restaurants and retail stores to the park for years with residents starting to get impatient in recent history about lacking opportunities.
[Read: Are Retail and Restaurants Finally Coming to the Great Park?]
Locals in the Great Park neighborhoods report they’ve had to drive to surrounding neighborhoods for their groceries and cuisine because there’s nothing closer.
“I hear very frequently from residents that they’re upset there’s not more retail in the Great Park area,” Councilmember Kathleen Treseder said. “They are glad that The Canopy is going forward, but they’re frustrated that it’s not going forward faster.”
The city plans to use about 10 acres to create new retail and food spaces. Another four acres will be dedicated to connecting the Great Park to the Irvine train station for improved pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle access.
“I also hear from people who are frustrated with that area over there [near the station] and how it’s designed and if we can help facilitate this connection through the land gap,” Tresder said.
FivePoint is set to receive a five-acre parcel of land that will be used as affordable housing. The land exchange requires the developer to create a 120-unit affordable workforce housing project on the site.
The developer is also set to receive an eight-acre parcel near the Irvine train station that staff said is isolated from city use and access.
Angelina Hicks is a Voice of OC Tracy Wood Reporting Fellow. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13
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