Land surrounding the now-shuttered All American Asphalt plant in Irvine will completely be transformed in the next few years to include a residential village as well as more open space.
The nearly 11-acre property is part of the city’s plan to convert the area into the Gateway Preserve, a vast, open green space that will be created from land already owned by the city, the shuttered asphalt plant property and land from the Irvine Company, amounting to about 700 acres.
Additionally, Irvine has planned 70 acres at the northeast corner of Jeffrey Road and Portola Parkway for entitlement as the city’s newest residential village, dubbed the Gateway Village. This area is near to, but not a part of, the All-American Asphalt plant.
On Tuesday, March 26, city leaders OK’d selling the 70 acres to real estate developer Brookfield, which has regional headquarters in Costa Mesa and could pay Irvine up to $654 million for the land, depending on the final deal.
Just over 1,200 residential units are planned for the Gateway Village including 927 market-rate homes, which will have an average unit size of 1,844 square feet and an average per unit price of $1.4 million, according to a staff report. Over 300 deed-restricted affordable apartment homes are also in Brookfield’s residential product plan, to be integrated within multiple locations in the community rather than consolidating into one.
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The Gateway Village will be one of the last single-family residential villages in Irvine, with proceeds of the sale paying off the financing of the purchase and closure of the asphalt plant, said assistant city manager Pete Carmichael.
Planned neighborhood amenities, according to a staff report, include parks, a community garden and a recreation center that features a clubhouse, pools, meeting rooms and event spaces.
Land development and construction are anticipated to be underway between 2026-2027, and home sales are set to begin in 2027.
The closure of the plant, which ceased operations in November 2023, came months after the Irvine City Council agreed to purchase the property for $285 million following increasing complaints from surrounding residents about air pollution and smells coming from the area when the plant was in production. Irvine filed a public nuisance lawsuit in 2020 and previously explored options for relocating the plant, which opened in the early 1990s before much of the surrounding residential development.
Carmichael said closing of escrow on the sale will happen within the next six months.
