In the heart of Irvine there are a number of small neighborhoods that are less well known than Woodbridge or Turtle Rock or some of the other larger or newer communities. These neighborhoods are no less interesting or well planned than their more famous brethren. One of these hidden gems is the community of Deerfield.
Deerfield is north of Woodbridge bounded by Irvine Center Drive, Culver Drive, Yale Avenue and the rail line which bisects Irvine. Deerfield Avenue is the main collector street moving traffic throughout the community. There is an apartment complex at the corner of Irvine Center and Culver, and there is other high-density housing north of Deerfield Avenue near the railroad tracks. The remaining housing is a mixture of one and two story dwellings. Deerfield was one of the earlier communities developed. It’s buildout was complete in 1976.
Life in Deerfield revolves around the large community park. This park together with an elementary and middle school comprise a large central greenspace. There are a series of pathways linking three satellite parks to the community park. This is a great master plan which allows children to walk or bike to school or the park without crossing busy streets.
Deerfield Community Park has great play areas. Notice the high, double-corkscrew slide — great fun for the young at heart.
There is another tot lot for smaller children with safety swings.
Another Frisbee golf course, apparently a popular feature for parks in the 60’s and 70’s.
Frisbee golf is still played today…
The community park has a building staffed year round.
There are also volley ball courts and tennis courts.
The north end of the central greenspace is occupied by Venado Middle School and
The trails link the central park to satellite parks. As you can see, these are used by the locals.
Northern Park (pool not shown).
Eastern park with children at play.
Western park and pool.
There are apartments and high density condominiums in Deerfield. The density is lower than the adjacent Windwood community behind Culver Plaza, and it is higher than the adjacent community The Ranch.
There are attractive single-story homes.
Many show pride of ownership.
Landscaping you only find in mature communities.
There is also a mixture of two-story homes.
Plenty of pretty flowers…
The varied architecture and mature landscaping makes for an attractive street scene.
The sub-neighborhoods have landscaped entries, but there is no names to give further identity.
A Lamborghini is going to stand out no matter where you park it, but it seems out-of-character with the modest, working-class homes in Deerfield. So what do you think? HELOC? Visitor? Car rich and house poor? Recent lottery winner?
Deerfield is a nice neighborhood to live and raise children. The central park gets plenty of use, and it provides a unifying element where neighbors meet neighbors and children play together outside. It doesn’t have the fame of Irvine’s other neighborhoods, but it is no less desirable as a place to call home.
Irvine’s Deerfield: a great place to live.
Yet another great Community Profile IR! The Bicycle Club of Irvine meets up at Deerfield Park regularly. It is a great older neighborhood that I didn’t really know about until recently.
—–
Can this one win your WTF award?
Asking 1.46 million
33 MODESTO
Irvine, CA 92602
Beds: 5 On Redfin: 1 day
Baths: 4 Year Built: 2002
sqft: 3,250 Lot Size: 6,228
$/Sqft: $451 MLS#: P579323
Status: Active on market
Last Sale: $609,000 (02/15/2002)
This one might be a candidate. There are some comps for sale in this area near that price, so this may be more of an outside wishing price rather than a true WTF price. Check out this comp:
Price: $1,385,000
Redfin Savings: $27,700
18 MODESTO
Irvine, CA 92602
Beds: 5
Baths: 3
Sq. Ft.: 3,250
Year Built: 2001
Stories: 2
Type: Single Family Residence
County: Orange
Neighborhood: Northpark
$/Sq. Ft.: $426
MLS#: S486222
Status: Active on market
On Redfin: 23 days
Thank you, Zovall.
I first discovered this community out of a sense of morbid curiosity. I thought the entry sign was the cheesiest I had seen, and the berm which screens the community from Irvine Center Drive piqued my curiosity. After exploring the neighborhood, I was actually quite impressed.
People comment on Irvine being a “master planned” community without really appreciating what that means. There was some great thinking which drove the design decisions which resulted in the layout of these neighborhoods. I like drawing attention to the subtlety of the design and the functionality it creates. One only needs to contrast these communities to the banality of older LA suburbs to gain an appreciation for the genius of what was accomplished.
Working class homes in Deerfield? With prices starting at $800,000 for an SFR, I would call these homes working class.
Great profile, IR. In fact, all of them are great. Everytime you write one, I change my mind about where we should move to next. It’s nice to know that there are many good places to choose from.
In this bubble, working class pricing is all relative. These homes are affordable with a neg am loan and a teaser rate 😉
Great profile. I like the Lambo . . .
That’s a nice community. I used to live not far away in the adjacent community called “The Ranch”. Sold in 2002 due to job relocation for nearly double what we bought it for in 1996. Now similar homes in Irvine are selling for almost double that (4 times our original purchase price).
I can’t wait to come back once prices come back down!
I should have said “Now similar homes in Irvine have ASKING PRICES more than double that”. Asking for a price and actually having it sell at that price are two very different things in this market.
Nice to notice the trails. ahead of their time. But there is a lack of shopping destinations in Irvine. I love pedestrian freindly places to live.
Sadly, $400+ sq/ft is not too bad for Irvine and So Orange Co. I think that we sensible renters are going to have to find someplace else to live. The wages have not gone up that much.
Sadly, no one who lives in Deerfield makes enough money to buy a home in Deerfield. The median household income in Irvine is around $85,000 per year, Deerfield is probably a bit lower due to the fact that many higher income areas exist (Shady Canyon, Turtle Ridge, etc.) that skew Irvine’s total numbers higher. Even $85,000 per year only qualifies you for a ‘realistic’ $390,000 home. This ponzi scheme is now running on fumes!
We all know there aren’t any low wage earners living in Irvine (they’re all in Santa Ana, right?), so even with an $85,000 median income you know that’s probably not far from what most people are earning. Sure there are high income households, but what I’m saying is that there aren’t many low income households to skew the data.
Don’t forget that there was a big housing bust in Southern California and Irvine WAS affected. That means there were many people who bought then and have lived in the same house since. As long as they weren’t dumb enough to take a HELOC, many people probably have their home either paid off in full or have a very manageable mortgage even if they earn the median income.
The opportunity will come again for people smart enough to have stayed out of this latest game. With some cash for a downpayment and an excellent credit history you’ll be set to pick up some good bargains by the end of the decade.