With the for-sale sign removed at the former El Toro Marine base in Irvine, the new owner shifted its focus Thursday from development rights to last rites.
Having won possession of the 3,718-acre base and facing the task of redeveloping it, home builder Lennar Corp. took at least one small step Thursday. It reached an agreement with a cemetery developer to build a 74-acre resting place off Irvine Boulevard, as requested by Irvine officials.
Unresolved is who will build and operate a 248-acre exposition center and 45 holes of golf, among other projects.
"We haven't made any long-term decisions," said Bob Santos, Lennar's regional executive vice president. He said the company had received queries from other companies wanting to participate in the Great Park project, but "we needed to win the bidding first."
Lennar finished its acquisition of El Toro on Wednesday, bidding $649.5 million for four master parcels that it will redevelop as the Great Park, under Irvine's zoning guidelines.
Support for Lennar came Thursday from the Irvine Co., which owns the property around the base. Lennar is building two residential projects for the company.
"We believe Lennar is a top-quality company with significant experience in Irvine and on the Irvine Ranch and that they'll do an excellent job," spokesman John Christensen said.
Among the nuts-and-bolts issues that come with purchasing the land, which Irvine has annexed, is figuring how to secure the facility, which has been guarded by the Orange County Sheriff's Department under contract with the Navy.
Lennar officials already have decided to maintain month-to-month leases that a number of base tenants had for several years with the county and the Navy. They include the El Toro Equestrian Center, an 18-hole golf course, a storage site for recreational vehicles and a satellite campus of Cal State Fullerton housed in the former Air Wing headquarters building.
"We know it will take some time for the city and Lennar to work out the actual [development] plans, and to the extent that these other uses can operate, we don't see any reason why they can't continue," Santos said. "If it turns out they don't fit in [with redevelopment], we'll find a graceful way to move them out."
The businesses should have four more months' reprieve. Escrow between the Navy and Lennar is expected to close in 120 days. All of the deed conveyances and leases with the Navy should be completed in July, with Irvine intending to begin demolishing the runways in fall.
