Strada @ orchard hills vs. Arcadia @ stonegate

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Id9510

New member
Hi all, we are a young family with an infant, relocating to Irvine this spring/summer.

?We have looked at homes at the orchard hill and stonegate communities, and we are interested in strada (plan 3 with conservatory room ~2,832sqft) at OH (non-gated side) and Arcadia (plan 2 or plan 3 ~3200sqft) at stonegate. ??

We quite like Arcadia model 2, but we keep hearing that OH is going to be a very nice community, and the fact that Arcadia is closer to the reservoir and landfill also concerns us a little bit with respect to health issues and resale values.

?What are your thoughts on the non-gated side of orchard hills vs. stonegate considering issues such as location, communities, schools, and resale values in 5-10yrs? Are there any other communities we should be looking at or waiting for in similar price range? (1.2-1.4m)?

Thank you for your time,
 
Are u considering only new?  If so, I would wait for beacon park. Opening summer 2015. If you are considering resale, in your price range, there's many options and many locations. Too broad without knowing more parameters.
 
Both have pretty good floor plan but you'll get better value for Arcadia. 

Arcadia
Pro:  Lower price per sq.ft, bigger lot, several swimming pool and park within walking distance, walking distance to the best elementary school in OC, slight lower HOA and MR.

Con: About 1 mile closer to landfill than Strada.

Strada
Pro:  You live in Orchard Hill and there's no apartments in the community.

Con:  You are paying for the OH location premium and less community amenities compare to Stonegate.  Small lots,  the back yard is almost the same size as side yard. 


Regarding to other new home or communities besides Beacon Park and Eastwood Village:
For Stonegate, there's Lafayettein coming soon and they are located on corner of Jeffrey and Portola Pkwy.

For Orchard Hills, there are offering something similar to Mulberry at the gated side of OH.  There's not much info on these new homes yet but it will be the lowest price home at gated side of OH. 
 
If you are looking for walking distance elementary school then Stonegate is the way to go. In OH Strada, depending on if you have a preference of TUSD or IUSD makes a difference between walk-able elementary or not -- TUSD OH elementary will be walk-able by the time your infant starts going, but if you prefer IUSD then you would have a small drive to the school.

Location wise, OH is a premium location compared to SG and as a lot of the others have mentioned it before, the proximity of the dump yard to Stonegate is a concern to many and also that it is downhill from the dump yard - from OH you cant even see it. I am also looking between OH and SG and so far I have'nt seen any location specific issues with OH -- but keep seeing quite a few with the other newer communities (Please let me know if you see any issues with OH). Like Inc mentioned depending on the lot the backyards in Strada might be smaller compared to other developments , but are far better when compared to something like Laurel in CV.
 
sky949 said:
I am also looking between OH and SG and so far I have'nt seen any location specific issues with OH -- but keep seeing quite a few with the other newer communities (Please let me know if you see any issues with OH).
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Have you read the disclosures?  Stonegate may be downhill from the dump, but OH is built on top of one.  OH may be gated, but they'll still allow in migrant workers to pick the avocados from the orchards.  They can also do aerial spraying of pesticides at any time day or night (i.e. keep your windows closed).  Other issues include mosquitoes from the retarding basins, potentially explosive munitions since it was an old military base, and overhead electrical lines emitting EMF.  OH also lies in a flood zone, which means you might have to take out flood insurance depending on the elevation of your home.

Otherwise, you're better off waiting for Beacon Park and its beautiful curvilinear streets which allow for 20% bigger lot sizes.  Of course, this just means 20% more trichloroethylene from the toxic plume.
 
Is Beacon Park same as Great park? If yes, Veterans Cemetery will be built in the Great Park. I definitely will not buy a home there.
 
Id9510 said:
Hi all, we are a young family with an infant, relocating to Irvine this spring/summer.

?We have looked at homes at the orchard hill and stonegate communities, and we are interested in strada (plan 3 with conservatory room ~2,832sqft) at OH (non-gated side) and Arcadia (plan 2 or plan 3 ~3200sqft) at stonegate. ??

We quite like Arcadia model 2, but we keep hearing that OH is going to be a very nice community, and the fact that Arcadia is closer to the reservoir and landfill also concerns us a little bit with respect to health issues and resale values.

?What are your thoughts on the non-gated side of orchard hills vs. stonegate considering issues such as location, communities, schools, and resale values in 5-10yrs? Are there any other communities we should be looking at or waiting for in similar price range? (1.2-1.4m)?

Thank you for your time,
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Hi ID9510,

  Your choices between the two homes are exactly the same ones I narrowed down to mid last year.  At the time, OH had their grand opening weekend, and I toured many of the homes at OH.  Messina stood out to me and my wife the most, but was a tad bit out of our budget, so we ended up loving Strada because model 3 had an awesome master closet for my wife.  We had our minds set on coming home applying for the prequaification at Strada.  On the way home however, we noticed Stonegate and remembered that the developers of Messina had a lot in Stonegate as well, so we stopped by.  We were really impressed with Model 2 since the master his/her closet was very large and could possibly fit all of my wife's clothes in there.  Also, when comparing the lot sq ft of the home and school district, it was very apparent that the value at Arcadia would be much more than at Strada.  Much like others have pointed out already:

Arcadia:
Pro's - Irvine school District (good for practical reasons and for resale)
Close amenities i.e. pool, tennis court, basketball court, Jeffrey Open Trail
Close to elementary school
Lower HOA
Larger sq foot, more value since prices are the same
Solar power standard in all homes

Con's:
Close to entrance of Bee Canyon Trail which leads to Bowerman Landfill - if you drive up this lane you'll notice that it takes you more than 2 miles into the mountain and the site is over multiple mountain ridges and even past the freeway

Strada:
Pro's:
Newer home in OH area (don't really know much about how significant this is but I saw it mentioned earlier)
Gated?  I know Messina and La Vita was in the gated communities, but I didn't think Strada was, just put it in since again, I read that in an earlier post

Cons:
School district is Tustin - no knock on Tustin, Irvine just has a better "image" and sometimes that helps during resale
Smaller sq. ft - drive to both again and compare the difference 400 interior sq ft can make. 
Amenities are a bit spread apart and I think someone wrote the HOA fees are higher in OH

Either way both homes are very nice, have awesome closets, the extra sq ft in Arcadia does make a nice difference though.
 
I think there might be some misinformation up here so I would like to help clarify to help you make a better decision.

Strada is only partially in the Tustin Unified SD, and partially in Irvine School District.  Right now they have available houses in both sections so you can take your pick depending on what you want. 

Strada is not gated. 

There is the Orchard Hills elementary next to Strada, but it is only 5-8 right now I believe.  It will eventually go to K-8 but it's unknown when that will happen.

The yards in Strada are generally smaller, but there are quite a few larger lots that are available for your choosing, which results in similar yard space as any other new developments in Irvine (maybe sans Sagewood in PP).

The information that was shared in regards to OH being on a landfill and they will do aerial spraying is the first I've heard.  Any sources that the poster could share would be much appreciated.  I'm doubtful on the aerial spraying of pesticide with residences and a high school so close to the orchards.

Now to the personal opinion:
First of all a little background about myself, my wife and I had owned properties around the general area and I have lived in Irvine for 17 years.  For the past 9 years I have been living in the general North Eastern corner or Irvine.  Woodbury - Northwood II (or now Northwood Estate) - Portola Springs - and now bought in Orchard Hills.

Now this is my personal feeling, so take it with a grain of salt.  I like Woodbury the most for its liveliness out of the few communities I've named.  Woodbury is also consider the master community to Cypress Village and Stonegate. 

We've looked at Stonegate extensively when we moved from Woodbury to Northwood II, and then again (as well as Pavilion Park) when deciding on purchasing Orchard Hills.

Stonegate just feels "empty".  I feel it's trees are smaller and few & far between.  The community feels barren.  You can still hear the dump truck going up and down sand canyon clearly.  And since the community started building during the real estate crash, it just feels like they invested a lot less into the community then Woodbury.

In addition it's closer to what I consider the "cluster" influx of FCB.  When we were living in Northwood II, we felt a dramatic change in the build up of the community and its surrounding from 2012 to 2014.  The Cypress Village shopping center and the 99 Ranch shopping center.

Orchard Hills simply has a better feeling, maybe it's the fung Sui.  But ultimately we chose OH.




 
WTTCHMN said:
sky949 said:
I am also looking between OH and SG and so far I have'nt seen any location specific issues with OH -- but keep seeing quite a few with the other newer communities (Please let me know if you see any issues with OH).
Click to expand...

Have you read the disclosures?  Stonegate may be downhill from the dump, but OH is built on top of one.  OH may be gated, but they'll still allow in migrant workers to pick the avocados from the orchards.  They can also do aerial spraying of pesticides at any time day or night (i.e. keep your windows closed).  Other issues include mosquitoes from the retarding basins, potentially explosive munitions since it was an old military base, and overhead electrical lines emitting EMF.  OH also lies in a flood zone, which means you might have to take out flood insurance depending on the elevation of your home.

Otherwise, you're better off waiting for Beacon Park and its beautiful curvilinear streets which allow for 20% bigger lot sizes.  Of course, this just means 20% more trichloroethylene from the toxic plume.
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Hi, could you share any source info you may have in regards to OH being on old military base as well as old landfill?  Was it a landfill first or military base first?

Also, the location of the electrical lines.  I'd really appreciate any info or link you may have.  Thank you in advance.
 
I don't know about OH is on top of landfill but their disclosure mention something about old military firing range.
http://www.talkirvine.com/index.php/topic,10941.msg231659.html
akimyai said:
Today I received a copy of the Yellow Report for Orchard Hills (i.e. the one filed with the CA Dept. of Real Estate).  I was shocked to read that the Groves was once used as a dump site.  It was apparently "discovered" during grading for the village.  It has since been cleaned up as of 2007.

Anyway, I was surprised it hasn't been mentioned on this forum, since everyone always badmouths GP for being a toxic dump, PS built next to the dump, SG across from the dump, etc.

In the long run, it probably won't matter... people always forget that Newport Coast was once built on a dumpsite too.

Other interesting tidbits from the Yellow Report:

A total of 4 villages are planned for Orchard Hills.

SCE has overhead electrical lines emitting EMF throughout the community.  An SCE substation is located next to the proposed Village IV.

Commercial nursery and agricultural operations may result in "noise, odors, dust, light, insects, the operation of pumps and machinery, bee pollination, and ground or aerial application of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides.  These agricultural practices may occur at any time of the day or night."

The Groves is located across from an old military training ground used in the 1940's.  "As a result of these training exercises, potentially explosive munitions may still remain..."

The flood map indicates portions of the Groves are subject to inundation in the event of a 500-year flood, "although flood events of such magnitude can occur more frequently than once every 500 years."

There are 2 retarding basins in OH.  "Mosquitos and other insects may breed in these basins." 

In addition, a dam study was conducted in the winter of 2013 which showed that "large portions of OH would be subject to flooding in the event of a sudden and unexpected dam failure" of these basins.

Interestingly, OH is NOT considered a high fire zone by the Orange County Fire Authority.  I thought this was interesting because I remember the area was affected by wildfires around 5-10 years ago.

OH is located near the Bowerman landfill, and "noise from such traffic will be heard within OH, both day and night."

"Residents of OH will be affected by the ongoing maintenance and cultivation of the orchards.  Maintenance crews will gain access to the orchards through community streets.  Resident will be affected by noise from work crews, irrigation pumps, wind machines, dust from harvesting, pruning, and irrigation runoff.  Chemicals will be used in the cultivation and maintenance of the orchards.  The chemicals may be applied by spraying the trees or weeds from the ground or by injection into the irrigation system.  Aerial spraying of trees may also occur..."

"The orchards will attract animals and insects.  Because coyotes and other wildlife are known to prey on household pets, residents are advised to keep domestic pets within their dwellings and use caution when leaving their pets outdoors."
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I'm also in the same boat. Torn between Stonegate and OH. I like the floor plan in Arcadia. The loft space in plan3 is sweet! The rooms are large and the yard seems decent. I just feel like for that kind of money it should have a more exclusive feel but instead it feels like I"m driving into some large IAC apartment community and I can't get over the fact that the entrance to the landfill is right there. OH feels nice, but the floorplans for Strada are just your typical IP design and the loft space is tiny. You get less livable space. So for resale which would fetch more? Realtors always push location, location, location. Does that mean OH is a better buy?
 
OC troll said:
I'm also in the same boat. Torn between Stonegate and OH. I like the floor plan in Arcadia. The loft space in plan3 is sweet! The rooms are large and the yard seems decent. I just feel like for that kind of money it should have a more exclusive feel but instead it feels like I"m driving into some large IAC apartment community and I can't get over the fact that the entrance to the landfill is right there. OH feels nice, but the floorplans for Strada are just your typical IP design and the loft space is tiny. You get less livable space. So for resale which would fetch more? Realtors always push location, location, location. Does that mean OH is a better buy?
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I think OH will be a better bet and a better location in the long run -- also agree with 'timandjess' -- about the other points that were raised by 'WTTCHMN' -- not sure where 'WTTCHMN'  got this info about OH being on a dump / military base (OH groves is not same as OH Strada) -- I couldn't find any information in regards to this -- also in regards to the EMF from the electric lines - I went over to OH Strada and didn't see any over head wires or transmission lines? -- looks like everything is underground electric lines -- about the Substation, looks like that is near  Jeffrey and Portola Pkwy, which is closer to SG than to OH Strada.
 
WTTCHMN said:
Better re-read your disclosures!
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"WTTCHMN" -- Appreciate you bringing up these points, but just trying to check how many of these are valid or specific to OH and more specifically to OH Strada.

Just curious -- does the Stone Gate public disclosure not have anything about EMF? -- especially with the substation being at Jeffrey and Portola? -- Point of the question being that I guess that would be a very general disclosure for almost every community? -- in which case why point it only for OH?

PS: Asking about SG because that is what the original poster asked about -- OH versus SG.
 
SG disclosures
1. landfill
2. former farm land, pesticide concerns
3. adjacent to active farm land, (now Eastwood Village), also pesticide concerns
4. bright lights from future Gateway park (other side of Portola/Jeffrey)
5. Syphon Reservoir

No EMF nor cemetery

sky949 said:
WTTCHMN said:
Better re-read your disclosures!
Click to expand...

"WTTCHMN" -- Appreciate you bringing up these points, but just trying to check how many of these are valid or specific to OH and more specifically to OH Strada.

Just curious -- does the Stone Gate public disclosure not have anything about EMF? -- especially with the substation being at Jeffrey and Portola? -- Point of the question being that I guess that would be a very general disclosure for almost every community? -- in which case why point it only for OH?

PS: Asking about SG because that is what the original poster asked about -- OH versus SG.
Click to expand...
 
The California Court Company said:
SG disclosures
1. landfill
2. former farm land, pesticide concerns
3. adjacent to active farm land, (now Eastwood Village), also pesticide concerns
4. bright lights from future Gateway park (other side of Portola/Jeffrey)
5. Syphon Reservoir

No EMF nor cemetery

sky949 said:
WTTCHMN said:
Better re-read your disclosures!
Click to expand...

"WTTCHMN" -- Appreciate you bringing up these points, but just trying to check how many of these are valid or specific to OH and more specifically to OH Strada.

Just curious -- does the Stone Gate public disclosure not have anything about EMF? -- especially with the substation being at Jeffrey and Portola? -- Point of the question being that I guess that would be a very general disclosure for almost every community? -- in which case why point it only for OH?

PS: Asking about SG because that is what the original poster asked about -- OH versus SG.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Thanks 'The California Court Company', that clarifies it -- so the EMF issue is more related to Village 4 (last village in OH) and not to OH Village 2 in which Strada is on the other end. OH Village 4 is right next to the substation on Portola and is a future expansion of OH.
 
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