Another Irvine village which is not widely known is The Ranch.
The Ranch is bounded by Yale Avenue, Irvine Center Drive, Jeffrey Road and the railroad tracks. It is north or Woodbridge and East of Deerfield. The communities of Windwood, Deerfield and The Ranch form a gradient of decreasing housing densities and increasing house sizes. With the exception of the condominium complex of Smoketree, the Ranch is almost exclusively large, single-family detached housing.
There is a mixture of one and two story houses. This one is your typical “American Dream” home with a white picket fence.
The main entry off of Irvine Center Drive features an attractive greenspace park.
There are not many parks or amenities in The Ranch. The main greenspace features of the community are the preserved windrows which have been used to link the various neighborhoods together with the central park and recreation space.
The preserved hedgerows gave the community instant maturity.
The pathways are attractive and inviting.
These are large, mature eucalyptus trees.
All the greenspace corridors lead to the central park area.
The greenspace is large, but it is not used for formal sports activities.
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There is another park on the east side of The Ranch separating it from Smoketree.
There is another children’s tot lot.
Between the houses and the railroad tracks is a wide buffer for power lines which is used as a bike trail.
This sets the homes a considerable distance away from the railroad tracks.
Large houses are common in The Ranch. Perhaps not this large…
The houses all display pride in ownership.
There is a variety of architectural styles.
I liked this one with its boulder landscaping.
The wide lots permit houses with elevations wide enough not to be dominated by a three car garage.
The Ranch is a perfect village for a homeowner who wants a large home on a large lot with minimal park facilities and a no mello roos or HOA fee. This neighborhood is atypical for Irvine in that regard.
Irvine’s The Ranch: a great place to live.
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It’s a nice area in the heart of Irvine.
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“These are large, mature eucalyptus trees”
says he with a scrawny sapling front and centre. 🙂
It does look like a nice place to live.
Another nice benefit of The Ranch is that these large homes and lots can be had for a reasonable price, compared to the rest of Irvine.
I was under the impression that in Irvine, a village is a collection of neighborhoods that are usually within close proximity to a “village center.” Given that, I always believed that The Ranch was part of El Camino Real. I recall looking at a map online wherein ECR was bounded by Irvine Center Drive, the 5 Freeway, Culver, and Jefferey. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Also I want to say that I enjoy reading your profiles – when are you going to do one on Northwood? One of Irvine’s original villages, developed on land actually NOT owned by the Irvine Co., and IMHO one of its most suburban in every sense of the word (e.g., green, pretty, and kinda dull).