LAT: El Toro Base Is Private Property

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http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-greatpark13jul13,1,5721313.story?coll=la-headlines-california

El Toro Base Is Private Property

Developer closes escrow with Navy, opening the way for Great Park and thousands of homes.
By Daniel Yi
Times Staff Writer

July 13, 2005

The closed El Toro Marine base officially became private property Tuesday as Lennar Corp., which won the 3,700-acre former military airfield in an auction in February, closed escrow with the Navy.

The nation's third largest home builder also signed a development agreement with the city of Irvine, which annexed the base in 2003 and named its redevelopment plan the Orange County Great Park.

Under the agreement, Lennar donated 1,375 acres of the land to Irvine for parks and roads and other public uses and committed to pay $200 million in development fees to fund public works on the site. In return, Lennar gained rights to build as many as 3,400 homes and 3 million square feet of commercial, industrial and office space.

The day marked yet another milestone in the decade-long fight over the future of El Toro, which some regional leaders have maintained should be turned into a commercial airport.

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With the property in Lennar's hands, the airport debate "is about as over as it is going to get," Irvine Mayor Beth Krom said before joining other city officials and Lennar representatives for a brief ceremony during Tuesday's City Council meeting.

(snip)