Orange County Great Park, Orange County Great Park Corporation

Gafcon, Inc. was retained by the Orange County Great Park Corporation to provide design management for the proposed Great Park Master Plan, which included a 1,347-acre urban park to be developed within the former 4,700-acre El Toro Marine Air Station in central Orange County.

In our role as design manager, Gafcon, Inc. was responsible for directing and coordinating all aspects of the project's design relating to budget, timeline, and quality assurance. Gafcon, Inc. and master designer, Ken Smith Landscape Architect of New York, formed Great Park Design Studio, a joint venture partnership. The joint venture consisted of a support team of over 42 consultants including landscape architect Mia Lehrer + Associates; TEN Arquitectos of Mexico and New York; artist Mary Miss; Steven Handel, restoration ecologist; and Fuscoe Engineering, a civil engineering firm in Orange County.

The park was to be one of the largest metropolitan parks built in the United States within the last century. The project was classified as a major brownfield development and, upon completion, would have been considered one of the nation's largest urban infill projects. It was to include a 3.5-mile wildlife corridor, a two-mile long canyon with trails, a 21-acre lake, botanical garden, amphitheater, sports fields, and cultural terrace.