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Irvine officials have approved another land swap with the Great Park developer — this time securing a 60-acre parcel with the goal to connect the park with the nearby train station.
FivePoint Holdings – the city’s developer at the Great Park – is set to receive two different parcels of land near the Great Park, totaling about 27 acres, while the city is set to receive about 60 acres of land right next to the Irvine train station.
City council members approved the swap 5-0 Tuesday night, with Councilmember Mike Carroll absent from the meeting.
“I’m looking forward to working with staff on this project for the next four years in our district, really pushing forward on taking advantage of the transportation mode there by the train station,” Councilmember William Go said during Tuesday night’s meeting.
Pete Carmichael, assistant city manager, said that the 60 acres of land the city will be receiving — referred to as the “Crescent” — is crucial to increasing connectivity among the train station, the Great Park and the Spectrum Center.
“You can imagine a future where the Great Park draws far more visitors than it does today,” Carmichael said. “This allows people to arrive and depart by public transit.”
Although there are no clear plans yet of how this land would exactly be used, Carmichael said it will most likely be utilized to make sure people can easily get to the train station from the Great Park and Spectrum Center — in addition to potential housing opportunities.
He said it’s an opportunity for workforce housing near a major portion of the city.
Mayor Larry Agran said he supported the idea of creating a walkable town center.
“What you’re describing, I hope, is a place in the city where an active person could live, work, enjoy recreational amenities, enjoy a high-quality life, without having to own an automobile,” Agran said. “That sounds terrific.”
Most residents who spoke during the meeting’s public comment period supported the land exchange.
“We do need more transit-oriented development in Irvine,” one Irvine resident said, “and this is a great way to start.”
Councilmembers Melinda Lui and Kathleen Treseder voted in support of the swap, but didn’t offer any comments during the meeting.
This approval comes on the heels of another land swap between the city and FivePoint.
In October, city leaders approved an exchange that could pave the way for bringing retail options to the Great Park, a goal that many nearby residents have been waiting on for years.
[Read: Has Irvine Finally Figured Out a Retail Approach to the Great Park?]
In that deal, the city gave away 13.8 acres of land to FivePoint and received 15.3 acres of land near the Great Park.
Residents in the Great Park neighborhoods have reported needing to drive to surrounding areas for groceries because there’s nothing closer. In October, the council discussed plans to use about 10 acres of the newly-acquired land to create retail and food spaces.
Agran said the land swaps are beneficial to the city and developer.
“Our staff has been very hard at work to make these mutually beneficial land swaps and use plans move from ideas to reality.”
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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