How does everyone think of Greatpark?
- Thread starter ting3149
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Irony.
It's bad...really bad.
The downside is the taxes (which compounding at 2% are year is just brutal) and fact that it is on a former marine base. But you have a lot of nice houses, good size lots and spacing, lower density, etc (albeit you have the 3 stories and attached - there is just a real nice feel to the overall neighborhood). Depending on where you work, location could be a positive, especially if after COVID spectrum area continues to develop more and more high paying jobs.
5 points has done a real nice job on the development side.
High schools are very different from elementary schools. Almost of the Irvine Company communities have a neighborhood elementary school that provides easy access to parents and for kids (and their guardians) to bike/walk home. High school students are generally dropped off by parents or drive themselves...that means a lot of traffic in the morning and after school.
Elementary schools are also largely quiet while high schools have events and sports events throughout the week/year.
Altair also caters to a very different crowd than PP. PP was sold as to multi-generational families while Altair is gated and priced to an exclusive group of buyers ($2-3 million homes). Altair is likely to have fewer families with kids who would go to public schools while PP was specifically marketed to those with kids. If I lived in PP, I would not have my kids walk a mile to and from school every day...thus I would have to drive them across to BP in the morning, wait in the drop off line, and then navigate my way to the freeway either via Irvine Blvd or Bryan. You may not think it to be an issue, but as a parent who rushed to get my kids to school in the morning, I can tell you that it is.
Altair on the other hand will be faced with a ton of traffic in the morning (and various other times) trying to go to and out of Portola HS. Since the only way to get out of Altair is Irvine Blvd...it would be a giant headache. Not something I want to deal with after paying $2-3 million for my house.
orchard hills have northwood high (i know the gated side is zoned to beckman, but the physical northwood high school is right there), and the only way out is portola...
i don't live in GP, but i don't see it being all that bad
CVE is far worse than PP to Beacon for elementary/MS, and high school if you wanted to compare another neighborhood in the same area. You're going across Sand Canyon with no bridge. Jeffrey Trail is near the 5 and Jeffrey, that's a long walk/bike on major streets if you lived at the corner of Trabuco/Ridge Valley.
Hidden Canyon/LA is much more like Altair: Gated exclusive community with large lots and lower density. It makes sense that they do not have a community school.
Again, PP was sold as a family community for multigenerational families. That is why I said Altair makes more sense where PP is. PP is also the only place in Great Park that is not affected by the bad soil issue because it was where the residential dorms were on the base and thus no dumping issues.
Orchard Hill is not connected to Northwood High at all and it has multiple exits. Yes, they all feed into Portola but it is not directly across the street. Also, if you actually live near either Culver/Portola, it is incredibly crowded and annoying in the morning (including those 60 second crosswalks and no right turn on red).
1) That is why CVE is very undesirable and mostly apartments are this point. CVE is also closer to the freeway than PP or BP.
2) One of the biggest issues with CV is that a major street runs through the community. Go near Roosevelt and Jeffrey during school time and you will see the backup is pretty crazy.
iacrenter
Well-known member
5 Points has done a good job with the community design and architectural elements in their common areas. As the GP develops, I'm sure future residents will appreciate the proximity to many amenities. For me, I couldn't buy in a former superfund site but many GP buyers would disagree with me.
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
qwerty said:
Irony.
Irvinecommuter
New member
I would break it up into two areas: 1) the site on which the Great Park is located on and 2) What Five Points did with the land
The site itself is bad IMO. It is the basically the last major piece of Irvine left to develop. It is not a secret that it was a former military base and thus all sort of stuff was dumped into the ground/soil. I know they did some remediation but still. Additionally, it is located next to a jail and without easy access to the freeway.
Anyone living in PP or BP would need to go on Irvine and make a left on to Sand Canyon, go through a bunch of residential streets/roundabouts across Ridge Valley, or go on the toll roads to access the freeway.
Five Point did an okay job of developing the land but it has abandoned all concept of balance so that it can cram in as many residential units as it can. There is a complete lack of retail and half of it is still open/vacant. It gives a semi-desert feel especially at night.
It has also made some curious decisions. For example, no schools within Pavilion Park, which reduces the mello roos but then hurts the resale because any one living there would have to send their kids to school in Beacon Park. Also, putting Altair across the street from the HS and relatively close to the prison is just an odd choice. Altair should be where PP is.
The amenities are quite nice but mello roos and HOA fees are also quite high.
The site itself is bad IMO. It is the basically the last major piece of Irvine left to develop. It is not a secret that it was a former military base and thus all sort of stuff was dumped into the ground/soil. I know they did some remediation but still. Additionally, it is located next to a jail and without easy access to the freeway.
Anyone living in PP or BP would need to go on Irvine and make a left on to Sand Canyon, go through a bunch of residential streets/roundabouts across Ridge Valley, or go on the toll roads to access the freeway.
Five Point did an okay job of developing the land but it has abandoned all concept of balance so that it can cram in as many residential units as it can. There is a complete lack of retail and half of it is still open/vacant. It gives a semi-desert feel especially at night.
It has also made some curious decisions. For example, no schools within Pavilion Park, which reduces the mello roos but then hurts the resale because any one living there would have to send their kids to school in Beacon Park. Also, putting Altair across the street from the HS and relatively close to the prison is just an odd choice. Altair should be where PP is.
The amenities are quite nice but mello roos and HOA fees are also quite high.
Irvinecommuter
New member
hurijo said:
It's bad...really bad.
I think the actual community and homes are very nice. One of the nicer neighborhoods in Irvine, especially relative to new builds (not as cookie cutter as IPAC and more character - although I will caveat while they have some nice architecture there are some models, namely some Lennar builds that are some of the ugliest exterior styles I've seen on a new build ever).ting3149 said:
The downside is the taxes (which compounding at 2% are year is just brutal) and fact that it is on a former marine base. But you have a lot of nice houses, good size lots and spacing, lower density, etc (albeit you have the 3 stories and attached - there is just a real nice feel to the overall neighborhood). Depending on where you work, location could be a positive, especially if after COVID spectrum area continues to develop more and more high paying jobs.
5 points has done a real nice job on the development side.
If my clients ask for my opinion when comparing a GP home vs. another neighborhood I will almost always tell them to consider the non-GP home. High MR makes it the equivalent of another home $50k-$100k more in home price when considering monthly payments.
Also personally I am not a fan of how far tucked away it is from retail and freeway access. This is a huge negative for me.
Also personally I am not a fan of how far tucked away it is from retail and freeway access. This is a huge negative for me.
GP amenities and neighborhoods look nice. But like how everyone mentioned, super high MR with 2% yearly increase just don't work for me.
Also being a former superfund site is kind of bad since it was the nation's polluted area officially. I do believe the claim they cleaned up now, but it just bothers me personally.
With all those facts considered, I wouldn't mind renting for a year or two to enjoy their nice amenities. I really really hope they build some retails, but with Covid stuff going on, it probably won't happen any time soon.
Also being a former superfund site is kind of bad since it was the nation's polluted area officially. I do believe the claim they cleaned up now, but it just bothers me personally.
With all those facts considered, I wouldn't mind renting for a year or two to enjoy their nice amenities. I really really hope they build some retails, but with Covid stuff going on, it probably won't happen any time soon.
Irvinecommuter
New member
AW said:
High schools are very different from elementary schools. Almost of the Irvine Company communities have a neighborhood elementary school that provides easy access to parents and for kids (and their guardians) to bike/walk home. High school students are generally dropped off by parents or drive themselves...that means a lot of traffic in the morning and after school.
Elementary schools are also largely quiet while high schools have events and sports events throughout the week/year.
Altair also caters to a very different crowd than PP. PP was sold as to multi-generational families while Altair is gated and priced to an exclusive group of buyers ($2-3 million homes). Altair is likely to have fewer families with kids who would go to public schools while PP was specifically marketed to those with kids. If I lived in PP, I would not have my kids walk a mile to and from school every day...thus I would have to drive them across to BP in the morning, wait in the drop off line, and then navigate my way to the freeway either via Irvine Blvd or Bryan. You may not think it to be an issue, but as a parent who rushed to get my kids to school in the morning, I can tell you that it is.
Altair on the other hand will be faced with a ton of traffic in the morning (and various other times) trying to go to and out of Portola HS. Since the only way to get out of Altair is Irvine Blvd...it would be a giant headache. Not something I want to deal with after paying $2-3 million for my house.
hmm, my counter to that (playing devils advocate) is that laguna altura and hidden canyon both don't have elementary within their neighborhood and have to cross a freeway to get to one...Irvinecommuter said:
orchard hills have northwood high (i know the gated side is zoned to beckman, but the physical northwood high school is right there), and the only way out is portola...
i don't live in GP, but i don't see it being all that bad
Irvinecommuter said:
CVE is far worse than PP to Beacon for elementary/MS, and high school if you wanted to compare another neighborhood in the same area. You're going across Sand Canyon with no bridge. Jeffrey Trail is near the 5 and Jeffrey, that's a long walk/bike on major streets if you lived at the corner of Trabuco/Ridge Valley.
Irvinecommuter
New member
AW said:
Hidden Canyon/LA is much more like Altair: Gated exclusive community with large lots and lower density. It makes sense that they do not have a community school.
Again, PP was sold as a family community for multigenerational families. That is why I said Altair makes more sense where PP is. PP is also the only place in Great Park that is not affected by the bad soil issue because it was where the residential dorms were on the base and thus no dumping issues.
Orchard Hill is not connected to Northwood High at all and it has multiple exits. Yes, they all feed into Portola but it is not directly across the street. Also, if you actually live near either Culver/Portola, it is incredibly crowded and annoying in the morning (including those 60 second crosswalks and no right turn on red).
Irvinecommuter
New member
akkord said:
1) That is why CVE is very undesirable and mostly apartments are this point. CVE is also closer to the freeway than PP or BP.
2) One of the biggest issues with CV is that a major street runs through the community. Go near Roosevelt and Jeffrey during school time and you will see the backup is pretty crazy.