One Of California's Largest City Parks Is Unveiling A Massive Expansion Bigger Than Central Park

One of Orange County's more ambitious up-and-coming attractions is not a resort or a beachfront, but a park — or, rather, a mega-park. The project, called Great Park, is underway in Irvine, the affluent college city with trendy dining and shopping. In the same vein, Great Park won't just be a sprawl of green space, but will also have a retail district, a sports complex, museums, and a massive amphitheater, according to the Great Park Framework Plan. When it's done, it's projected to be around 1,300 acres, which easily dwarfs Central Park's 843 acres. That massive scale comes with an equally massive price tag, too, costing the city around $1.1 billion, as the Orange County Business Journal reported.

How, you might wonder, did Orange County get the space for a neighborhood-sized urban park? Where Great Park will be unfurled was once the Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, a military base that was active during World War II and closed in 1999. Three years later, the county voted to turn the space into a park. Though parts of the park had already been developed in the time before, Irvine approved the Great Park Framework Plan that outlines its future buildout in 2022. Per the Orange County Business Journal, plans are laid out for developing the park in multiple phases up to the year 2036. While making travel plans that far ahead is a lofty endeavor, the rollout of the park, with certain areas already open, means there might be something new to discover on each visit.

As it stands today, Great Park is easily visitable and already offers lots to do. For those flying into Irvine, Great Park is a 20- to 30-minute drive from the John Wayne Airport, a hidden gem airport with some of the lowest wait times in America. Most of the already-completed elements are located in what will be the future Western Sector. Here, you'll find the Great Park Balloon, one of the well-loved highlights of the park with 4.5 stars on Google Maps. The massive orange balloon doubles as a sky-high observation deck, taking visitors 400 feet up in the air (for a fee). For visitors who are interested in the park's military base history, you can see some of the original military structures that have been repurposed in the completed Palm Court Arts Complex. One of those is the free-entry Hangar 244, now used as an exhibition space displaying works related to the Marine Corps Air Station El Toro.

One project in development as of this writing is theAmp, a 10,000-seater amphitheater that will sit next to two central lakes. Though it's not open yet (it's supposed to open by 2027, according to Irvine Community News and Views), there is a temporary live theater in the Western Sector to host events until then. The lakes are designed to be the park's scenic centerpiece, with waterfalls, gardens, and boardwalks. In a northern area of the park called the Bosque, there's going to be a giant retail complex called The Canopy. Some of the shops and dining spots set to open within the complex have already been announced, including an In-N-Out branch, the legendary burger chain with a secret menu.