A Great Park aquatics facility will still be completed in the initial phase of the Irvine park’s development — just not in time for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
And the deadline for the completion of the first slate of projects, which includes a veterans memorial garden, 15 acres of lush green botanical gardens, a 14,000-seat amphitheater and a retrofitted Hangar 244 with places to eat, has already shifted from 2029 to 2032.
The USA Water Polo aquatics facility was not part of the original plan for the first phase priorities. But during a City Council meeting last month, residents overwhelmingly spoke in favor of prioritizing such a hub ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics. With water polo one of the “most winning sports for the United States in the Olympics,” Councilmember Mike Carroll said then, it was a “no-brainer” to include the facility in this initial phase of Great Park development.
However, staffers found, in drafting a new plan that would prioritize the facility by 2028, other projects in the Heart of the Park would be delayed, including core park features like the meadow, lake and forestation.
Prioritizing the aquatic center “required that we delay implementation of several other projects because of the way the cash flow model works,” said City Manager Oliver Chi.
A majority of the funding for the projects comes from the special Mello-Roos tax that Great Park residents pay — which goes toward local improvement or facility projects meant to benefit them. The delay would allow for an additional year to collect the tax, which can increase by 2% annually based on property values.
So councilmembers have pivoted again, deciding it is critical to complete the core park features first. That means the aquatics center, with its multiple pools, will still be included in that first phase but won’t be scheduled to be completed until 2032.
And the estimated cost of the first phase of the development has increased to $800 million, up…
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