The Great Park unveiled plans to develop new major areas, including The Canopy—a planned retail and dining center—in its State of the Great Park event on May 7. Designed to bring together residents and visitors alike, the development represents more than just new places to eat and shop: it signals a shift toward community-centered living.
“We bought a piece of property from Five Point, about 12 acres, to do the neighborhood shopping center for the Great Park community,” Vice President of Almquist Development Tom Carpenter said. “We’ve also partnered with the city to lease some adjacent property to do additional food and beverage throughout the Great Park.”
The Canopy will feature a mix of local, regional, national and international businesses. To create an accessible space, Almquist Development carefully selected a mix of tenants for the project, ranging from Canadian Asian chain T&T Supermarket to a barbecue joint, according to Carpenter.
For Great Park residents, The Canopy offers a new opportunity for socialization and relaxation.
“I think it will impact Portola High school students in particular, because after school or even during the weekend, people might go to The Canopy in general to unwind,” Great Park resident and junior Selena Somalraju said. “I believe that it will serve as a really good place for social hangouts or studying after school.”
Although The Canopy will increase traffic flow to the Great Park, developers do not foresee a major impact on the surrounding areas as they previously studied a larger retail project’s effects on traffic and found no major issues, according to Carpenter.
“Some bigger benefits I think it could bring are lower car emissions,” Somalraju said. “I feel like this project will encourage walkability among Great Park residents.”
Having worked on Rodeo 39 Public Market in Stanton and River Street in San Juan Capistrano, Almquist Development seized the opportunity to design a place tailored to the Irvine community.
“Here we’re going with a more modern, contemporary style of architecture,” Carpenter said. “Given that this was such a unique opportunity to do something in Irvine, we wanted to do something a little bit different than what’s already been done, which is why we picked a lot of darker, warmer palettes.”
Almquist Developing has entered into an exclusive negotiating agreement with the city to explore food and beverage opportunities throughout the Great Park, according to Carpenter. In the future, Almquist Development will work alongside city officials to assess potential expansions and enhance the park’s overall culinary offerings.
