The Great Park’s newest neighborhood, Parasol Park, opened several new collections in December. The next few collections are slated to open in mid-January. Parasol Park is between Cadence (at the south end of Beacon Park) and Great Park Boulevard, with most homes planned to be on the east side of Ridge Valley. The entire neighborhood will have over 725 homes, all of which are condominiums (some attached, some detached). There will be ten different home collections, though they haven’t announced a name or builder for the 10th, which is supposed to open in the spring.
The first nine collections are built by six different companies and range from 1,385 – 3,196 square feet.
| Collection | Builder | Square Feet | Beds | Baths | Base Price |
| Sterling | Tri Pointe Homes | 1,385 – 2,336 | 2 – 4 | 2 – 3.5 | High $500,000s |
| Carlisle | Tri Pointe Homes | 1,594 – 2,153 | 2 – 4 | 2.5 | High $600,000s |
| Jade* | Pulte Homes | 1,607 – 2,746 | 2 – 4 | 2.5 | $700,000s |
| Julep* | Shea Homes | 1,734 – 2131 | 3 | 2.5 – 3 | Mid $700,000s |
| Amethyst | The New Home Company | 1,897 – 2,197 | 3 | 2.5 – 3.5 | Low $700,000s |
| Lanterns* | Lennar | 1,949 – 2,099 | 3 | 2 – 3.5 | Mid $700,000s |
| Somerset* | Lennar | 2,028 – 3,196 | 3 – 4 | 2.5 – 4.5 | High $800,000s |
| Celadon | William Lyon Homes | 2,016 – 2,451 | 3 – 4 | 3.5 | $700.000s |
| Obsidian* | Lennar | 2,897 – 3,036 | 3 – 4 | 2 – 4 | Low $1,000,000s |
*Collections marked with a star opened in December; others slated to open in January
Parasol Park is part of the Great Park Neighborhood Association. Residents will have full access to all of the amenities in both Pavilion Park and Beacon Park. Association dues is anticipated to be $141 – 216 per month at buildout.
All Parasol Park homes are part of the Irvine Unified School District. Students will attend Beacon Park School for grades K – 8 and Portola High School for grades 9 – 12. Both schools opened in the fall of 2016, so students will experience state of the art technology in these brand new schools. Beacon Park School currently only goes through grade 6, but will add one new grade in each of the next two years. In the meantime, middle school students will attend Jeffrey Trail Middle School. Likewise, Portola High School opened with only ninth grade, and will add one new grade level in each of the next three years. Northwood High School will serve the Great Park Neighborhoods until Portola High School offers all grades.
Parasol Park isn’t marketing itself as a typical neighborhood of suburban Irvine. Rather, they are trying to hype their all-condo, high density neighborhood as “the first of the Great Park Neighborhoods to offer a more urban lifestyle.” According to their website, “Neighbors live closer together. Spaces are more intimate. And open space is shared.” Most Irvine residents I know have been frustrated by the increasing number of high density homes, so this new neighborhood is unlikely to be popular with existing homeowners.
Parasol Park is going to have two primary parks. The Water Park is scheduled to open in the summer of 2017. It will be an 8.26-acre private park located between Beacon Park and Parasol Park, just north of Cadence and east of Ridge Valley. It will have children’s pools, spas, a community pool, an 8-lane competition pool, fire pits, BBQ areas, a fitness lawn, playground areas, and more.
The 3-acre neighborhood park (called Parasol Park) is already open. It includes the Living Room Information Center, where prospective residents can get general info about the neighborhood. Right now, the space also includes a foosball table, small play area, and seating. A whimsical directional sign points people toward various features of the park, as well as the K-8 school and the Great Park’s Orange Balloon.
There is a barbecue area with two large grills, a sink, and a small fridge. With a long counter and large table, this area is great for a party or community bbq.
An open play area includes two modern-looking ping pong tables.
The park has a small greenhouse, though I couldn’t go inside yet because people were still working on it when I visited. There are several additional garden boxes outside where residents can grow fruits and vegetables in a community garden.
The playground structures are mostly wooden. I saw two swings designed for older kids, but didn’t notice any bucket swings for babies and toddlers. The play structures are somewhat small and don’t have nearly as many exciting features as those of nearby Beacon Park.
However, there is one great highlight at this park – a long zipline, unlike anything I have seen at other Irvine parks. The zip line has a seat for kids to sit on as they fly across the playground.
There are assorted seating and decorative features throughout the park, keeping with the modern look, garden style, and community feel seen across the Great Park Neighborhoods.
The park also has a multi-use sports court that has a volleyball net but could also be used for basketball.
The neighborhood has plans for a grand opening this month. I have seen two collections so far (Somerset by Lennar and Jade by Pulte Homes) and they had a lot of similarities. I plan to visit the remaining collections over the next couple of months. As they are all condos, I don’t anticipate any major differences between them, but I do look forward to reviewing them. I am a little concerned that there will be more of these high-density, urban-style neighborhoods coming soon to the Great Park, since the website does call Parasol Park “the first” to have the urban lifestyle.