The former El Toro Marine Corp Air Station closed in 1999. Its approximately 3,700 acres were auctioned off by the Federal government in 2005. Heritage Fields (now known as Great Park Neighborhoods) submitted the successful bid for all four parcels. As part of the purchase of the property, 1,387 acres were transferred to public ownership to create the Orange County Great Park which is nearly 1 1/2 times the size of New York’s Central Park. In addition, development fees in the amount of $401 million dollars were paid to the city that will be used to build roads and other park infrastructure.
The acreage, located around the Great Park, is known as the Great Park Neighborhoods.