Las Ventanas by Taylor Morrison at Portola Springs

I like these home designs and SFR setup but the location has me concerned as well. Nearly 1/4 of the homes back to Portola Parkway, the main entrance street (Arrowhead), or face/back/side to the 133 tollway. Also almost 1/3 of the subdivision is exposed to the 133 at it's lowest  elevation and closest point (i.e. more noise) versus Sevilla, Ironwood, and all the older subdivisions in the Northern enclave).
 
This was taken last Sat.  Toll road in background.

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iacrenter said:
I like these home designs and SFR setup but the location has me concerned as well. Nearly 1/4 of the homes back to Portola Parkway, the main entrance street (Arrowhead), or face/back/side to the 133 tollway. Also almost 1/3 of the subdivision is exposed to the 133 at it's lowest  elevation and closest point (i.e. more noise) versus Sevilla, Ironwood, and all the older subdivisions in the Northern enclave).
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Isn't that the 261?  But I hear you.  As awesome as the thought was for a single family home in Irvine starting in the $600's... the thought of the toll road was disconcerting.  Reminds me of homes i saw in oak creek really near the 405.  Obviously not as much traffic as the 405, but the proximity of the freeway was so bothersome that we never even stepped inside to look at the house, we just told the realtor, "Next"...
 
Also, does was anyone able to see how wide the streets are going to be?  I was wondering if it was going to be like some neighborhoods in irvine where there are SFRs, but the streets are painfully narrow and the driveways are really short.  (Im thinking of the couple of hoods in northwood pointe - arden sq and georgetown?)
 
Here is my "through the chain link fence" view:

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Notice how far set back the garage is? Toll road or not... do you spend $650k on one of these or $600k on a detached condo?
 
Remember to add in the 4-5 foot greenbelt, then the 3-4 ft sidewalk and then you can determine where the driveway might start.
 
Not sure if these will have the greenbelt but it looks like it might have the space too (greenbelts are nice and I like them but it makes your HOA higher).
 
Hi all, first post here... I found the toll road discussion interesting. I just bought a couple of months back in west irvine and my house backs to the 261.

I refused to see the house initially because of noise concerns. I was convinced by my wife and realtor to at least give it a look. I really liked the house once I saw it. It was really well maintained and upgraded. Regarding the noise this is what i noticed.

Out of all the toll roads the 261 seems to be the least noisy, the 133 /73 seem to be much more crowded (which is part of the reason i rejected santa cruz in woodbury east). You can hear the road (still much less noisy than 5/405) in the morning say 7-9AM weekdays, weekday evenings (5-7PM) are a little quieter (maybe because the traffic is going in the other direction and it is further away from my home). At all the other times and weekends it is really quiet. It also helps that I really back to the portola exit ramp which buffers me from the 261 further. Also, I cannot see the toll road since it is lower on the other side of the hill that separates the community from the toll road. For me at least having the toll road has become a slight advantage, I have no homes at the back so more privacy. Also, the hill provides a nice view.

Bottom line is, take a look at the home location. Spend some time in the morning/evening during rush hour, spend some time in the afternoon, check it out on the weekends and then come to a conclusion.
 
When i went to look at the Sevilla models, we stood outside and i thought the toll road noise was negligble. It didnt bother me at all. I cant imagine the noise being that much different at the Ventanas location. And people complaining about the air quality of being next to the toll roads, i cant imagine the air quality being any different, in say a neighborhood that is surrounded by Culver/Jamboree/Irvine Blvd, not to mention we are in Socal so the air quality is bad in general.

I think these concerns are a bit overblown (the air polution more so than the toll road noise).
 
What do you guys think the plan 3 of las ventanas will go for?

Assuming 650K for the plan one that comes out to high 340's a sq/ft, applying that same sq footage price to the plan three it puts it at close to 800K. That would suck if a brand new 2,300 sq ft home with a drive way is 800K.
 
Maybe they'll do:

Plan 1: $650k
Plan 2: $700k
Plan 3: $750k

(the lower the sqft, the more you pay so it won't scale up propotionately)
 
irvinehomeowner said:
Maybe they'll do:

Plan 1: $650k
Plan 2: $700k
Plan 3: $750k

(the lower the sqft, the more you pay so it won't scale up propotionately)
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i hope you are right. Ive seen some places that dont really give any significant per sq ft discount which is why i was asking.
 
Just FYI, that is the 133 next to Las Ventanas.  Behind Portola Springs is the 241.  261 is parallel to 133 but it's further north.
 
ahh.. that's right. it is the 133. 

regardless.  the problem for me isnt the noise.  it's actually the view.  look up and you see the toll road.  i actually live in west irvine now.  the 261 doesnt bother me at all.  also, you never see it. 
 
westirvine_loaner said:
Hi all, first post here... I found the toll road discussion interesting. I just bought a couple of months back in west irvine and my house backs to the 261.

It also helps that I really back to the portola exit ramp which buffers me from the 261 further. Also, I cannot see the toll road since it is lower on the other side of the hill that separates the community from the toll road.
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Welcome Westirvine_loaner!

If you hear that loud engine revving noise at 12am--that is just me down shifting my v8 as I decelerate down the Portola toll ramp  :)

I've lived near major roads and am not a fan of the increased noise and pollution factor. I'm sure you can get used to the noise but that is something I will try to avoid if given a choice. Even if it doesn't bother you personally, it will affect your price at resale time.
 
akim997 said:
ahh.. that's right. it is the 133. 

regardless.  the problem for me isnt the noise.  it's actually the view.  look up and you see the toll road.  i actually live in west irvine now.  the 261 doesnt bother me at all.  also, you never see it. 
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I used to live in West Irvine too, and I didn't hear any noise.  But I did always hear a loud engine rev at night too.  Do you live near the toll road?  I didn't live too close to it, so I didn't hear much noise at all.

And yeah, it's one thing if you live above the toll road - another to have to look up every day from your house and see the toll road.
 
What about the health effects?  At first, I was concerned mainly about the noise but with the newer double pane windows and better insulation, I couldn't hear the road noise at all in the models while all the windows and doors were closed.  Outside the models was a different story.  Then I began reading some studies released over the last couple of years about the possible health effects of living near a freeway especially in pregnant women and in young children.  With starting a family being one of the major reasons behind us looking for a new home, I couldn't help but attribute my decision to live near a freeway (if I do indeed to do so) to be a major contributing factor in them developing asthma for example.  The problem is it seems all the new construction seems to be relatively close (and in some cases absolutely close) to freeways. 
 
blitzjs said:
What about the health effects?  At first, I was concerned mainly about the noise but with the newer double pane windows and better insulation, I couldn't hear the road noise at all in the models while all the windows and doors were closed.  Outside the models was a different story.  Then I began reading some studies released over the last couple of years about the possible health effects of living near a freeway especially in pregnant women and in young children.  With starting a family being one of the major reasons behind us looking for a new home, I couldn't help but attribute my decision to live near a freeway (if I do indeed to do so) to be a major contributing factor in them developing asthma for example.  The problem is it seems all the new construction seems to be relatively close (and in some cases absolutely close) to freeways. 
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I dont travel the 133 or 241, but im guessing Jamboree, Culver, Jeffrey, etc all get much more traffic than eithe the 133 or 241.  That is my point, regardless of where you live you can only get so far from a freeway or main arterial road. Not much you can do in my opinion, dealing with air pollution is one of the benefits you get from living in the beautiful weather of Socal.
 
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