The Irvine City Council has approved several more significant contracts that ensure progress on the Great Park continues.

For one, the council recently approved a $6 million deal with construction firm Resource Environmental Inc. to demolish and remove abandoned infrastructure, building foundations, underground utilities and other antiquated infrastructure from the El Toro Marine Base.

The city has already removed 77 base-era buildings and structures, Irvine staffers told the council in a report. Phase II of the demolition will begin in December and continue through January 2026, the city expects, clearing the way for developing the park’s northern sector.

The council approved two additional $2 million contracts with firms for engineering support services and construction management. The first firm, DMc Engineering, will assume responsibility for Great Park master planning, surveying and engineering. The second, Griffin Structures Inc., will tackle projects including lake design and construction, amphitheater and parking structure construction and historic building renovations.

The city also approved a $1.7 million deal with Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects to transform Hangar 369 into a “state-of-the-art event center.”

The proposed facility at the center of the Great Park Cultural Terrace with an approximate footprint of 30,000 gross square feet, will “not only serve as a central hub for cultural events, but also position itself as one of the largest indoor event venues in Orange County,” city officials describe.

The surrounding Great Park Cultural Terrace is approximately 117 acres and will be the future home of the Pretend City Children’s Museum, Orange County Music & Dance, Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum, Asian American History Museum, and other amenities including parks, open spaces, lawns and bike and pedestrian pathways.

Councilmembers also recently approved a directive for city staff to negotiate with the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity for inclusion in the Great Park framework. The center, named for the Looney Tunes animator, offers children’s art lessons and programming.

And, last but not least on the slate of Great Park items, the council has approved a $200,000 budget for painting updated entries on the “Walkable Historic Timeline” that runs through the center of the park and traces historical events from 13,000 BCE to 1990.

The timeline has been well maintained since its unveiling over a decade ago, but it’s time for an update, city staff say.

The city partnered with Historical Research Associates Inc. to curate 44 new entries that reflect history since 1990, including major events, technological advancements and cultural shifts, that will be painted onto the timeline, continuing east through the park.

Proposed new entries approved by the council will range from hyperlocal, such as “2017: Great Park Expands Sports Facilities,” to global with “2010: Arab Awakening Begins in Tunisia.”

The final new entry on the timeline will read: “2019: COVID-19 Becomes a Global Pandemic.”

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