We’ve waved goodbye to 2014. As the new year unfolds, here are a few things, in no particular order, to keep an eye out for in Lake Forest and Laguna Hills:
Proposal for revamp of Laguna Hills Mall
Merlone Geier Partners bought the struggling mall from longtime owner Simon Property Group in 2013 and announced plans for an interior and exterior remodel.
Those plans were broadened in 2014 after the firm bought out the lease held by Sears, one of the center’s anchor stores. Now the conceptual proposal is to turn the mall, built in 1973, into a “promenade-style urban village.”
The owners also said a renaming of the complex would accompany the remodel. Five Lagunas would be the mall’s new moniker. The next step will be the formal submission of plans to the city’s Planning Department.
Lake Forest Sports Park gets into the swing of things
The 86-acre park, which boasts a slew of sports fields, made its debut in November. Organizers estimated 2,000 people came by the park for a kick-off event.
The massive complex, which includes a 27,000-square-foot recreation center, sits off of Rancho Parkway between Lake Forest Drive and Portola Parkway.
The new space has allowed the city to augment its classes and activities with additional programs, including adult softball, set to kick off in March.
Play is already underway on the park’s artificial turf fields and in the Recreation Center’s gymnasium.
The ball fields and the Commons, a 3-acre lawn, are set to open Feb. 23; the park’s natural turf fields are expected to be ready for use in spring.
More water conservation measures
As the drought drags on, more people are looking for ways to bring down the water bill and use less of the precious resource.
In 2014, a collaborative project saw the upper field at Laguna Hills High School replaced with turf in an effort to save water and money.
Agencies that brought the effort to fruition were the Moulton Niguel Water District, the Municipal Water District of Orange County, the Saddleback Valley Unified School District and the city of Laguna Hills.
The success of that project prompted the city to conduct a similar project at the Community Center, replacing the softball field with synthetic turf.
Faster police response
Construction is underway in Lake Forest to revamp a building that will house a new substation for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
For years, south county deputies who patrol east of I-5, including Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita and unincorporated areas, have deployed from a substation in Aliso Viejo.
Being stationed at the site selected for the new substation, near Lake Forest Drive and the 241 Toll Road, is expected to reduce time deputies spend driving to their respective cities.
The department is leasing about half of a building formerly occupied by a health care company at 20202 Windrow Drive, across from the new Lake Forest Sports Park, for the facility.
An opening date could come as soon as March.
Political change
Voters in November continued casting ballots for new faces on the Lake Forest City Council as they have in recent elections.
Councilman Scott Voigts was returned to office for a second term; his colleagues at the dais voted him to serve as mayor in 2015.
The council got two new members, too: community activist Jim Gardner and planning commissioner Andrew Hamilton. Kathryn McCullough, on the council since 1994, was not reelected.
Voigts is now the most experienced member of the council, with four year under his belt.
Although no election was held after only three people filed to run for three seats on the Laguna Hills City Council, that governing body too has a new member.
Don Sedgwick was appointed to the seat vacated by founding Councilman Randal Bressette, who decided to retire from the council.
Sedgwick’s long tenure as a school board member for the Saddleback Valley Unified School District means he is already familiar to many residents.
New homes, businesses
Expect to see more cranes as the gradually improving economy encourages construction.
Buildings will go up this year at Lake Forest Gateway, the complex at Rockfield Boulevard and Lake Forest Drive, which is getting redone after delays caused by the recent recession stymied previous improvement plans.
More residences are coming at Baker Ranch, the big Lake Forest development which began selling homes in its first neighborhood in 2014 – becoming the first master-planned community to open in Orange County that year. Once complete, the project is set to encompass nearly 2,400 homes.
Another project moving ahead is Portola Center, in Lake Forest’s Portola Hills community. That development is expected to include 930 homes, some commercial space and a community park.
Residents of Lake Forest will also see continued construction on the pair of residential projects in Foothill Ranch’s former auto mall.
Oakbrook Village, the shopping center adjacent to Laguna Hills Mall, is being turned into a mixed-use center with high-end apartment buildings.
Contact the writer: 949-492-0752 or sdecrescenzo@ocregister.com
