Southern California’s $1B outdoor project bigger than Central Park reveals it will charge for parking

Visitors heading to Irvine’s sprawling Great Park will soon have to pay to park as city leaders look for new ways to plug a growing budget hole.

The Irvine City Council voted this week to end the park’s free parking perk, with hourly rates ranging from $2 to $4, and special event parking climbing as high as $40. Officials say the move could generate between $3 million and $5 million annually.

Locals will get a hometown advantage, as Irvine residents who sign up for an annual permit will be able to park for up to four hours each day at no charge.

The $1 billion mega-project in Orange County is set to transform an old military base into what could become one of the biggest urban parks in America — complete with lakes, museums, shopping, an amphitheater and enough space to dwarf New York’s Central Park.

At the center of the space is the so-called “Heart of the Park,” a gigantic new entertainment and recreation zone featuring two lakes with multiple cascading waterfalls, a Great Meadow, walking trails and even a farm.

Plans call for a 10,000-seat amphitheater, called The Amp, that could restore Orange County’s outdoor concert scene after the closures of both Irvine Meadows Amphitheater and FivePoint Amphitheatre. The entertainment push is already well under way.

There is also a 194-acre athletics hub packed with soccer fields, baseball and softball diamonds, volleyball courts and one of the region’s biggest soccer stadiums.

The park’s most recognizable attraction is already operational — a giant orange balloon that can carry visitors 400 feet above the ground.

Elsewhere, developers are building what is being called the “Cultural Terrace,” a massive arts and museum district that will include the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum, the Asian American History Museum, a Pretend City Children’s Museum and other exhibit spaces housed partially in restored military hangars.

The park’s northern section will feature a sprawling botanical garden with trails, dry creeks, maze gardens, arboretums and themed spaces. A Veterans Memorial park and Garden is also planned, preserving portions of the old military tarmac as a 1,100-foot-long “Walk of Honor” dedicated to Orange County veterans.

The project also includes a glossy retail hub.

Dubbed “The Canopy,” the 90,000-square-foot shopping and dining area will include restaurants, grocery stores and retail spaces designed to be an “all-day destination.” Canadian Asian grocery giant T&T Supermarket is slated to open in the space in the winter, along with an In-N-Out Burger.

Expected to open at the end of 2026, the In-N-Out will come in at 3,808-square-feet, and will include a drive-thru service, according to The Canopy’s website.

The project first broke ground in June of 2023, and is expected to be completed in 2029. The new parking fees are expected to be in place late 2026.

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