The short version: Irvine broke ground this summer on Gateway Village — a brand-new foothill neighborhood of roughly 1,138 homes rising on the site of the old All American Asphalt plant, up near Portola Parkway and Jeffrey Road. About 25% of it (287 apartment homes) is set aside as affordable, and the other 851 are for-sale homes across six new neighborhoods being built by Brookfield Residential. It sits right against the 700-acre Gateway Preserve — roughly ten miles of new trails that open onto Irvine's larger 20,000-acre open-space system. First model homes are expected in summer 2027, with parks and amenities coming in early 2028. It's genuinely rare to get a whole new village in Irvine with a backstory this good: the city turned what the mayor called its single largest industrial polluter into homes and open space.
I get excited about a lot of Irvine news, but this one is a different category. We don't get many new villages anymore — most of the buildable master-planned land is spoken for. So when a 1,100-plus-home neighborhood breaks ground on the north edge of the city, on land that used to be an asphalt plant, that's worth walking through properly. Here's what's actually happening, and how I'd think about it if you're a buyer, an owner nearby, or just someone who likes watching Irvine grow up.
The Backstory Is the Best Part
For decades, the piece of land near Portola Parkway and Jeffrey Road was home to the All American Asphalt plant, operating since the early 1990s. If you live in Orchard Hills or northern Irvine, you may remember the years of complaints about odors and air quality — this was the site at the center of a lot of that. Mayor Larry Agran didn't mince words at the groundbreaking, calling it "the largest industrial polluter, not just in Irvine."
In 2023 the city moved to buy the plant — a deal reported at around $285 million — and shut it down. What's replacing it is about as close to the opposite as you can get: homes on one part of the site, and a huge swath of protected open space on the other. That's the part I'd frame for anyone who followed the old fight over this land. This isn't a developer squeezing houses onto a cornfield. It's a genuine cleanup-and-reuse of one of the city's most contested industrial sites.
What's Actually Being Built
Here are the numbers worth knowing, because "1,100 homes" gets thrown around loosely:
Gateway Village is planned for roughly 1,138 homes across six new neighborhoods. About 287 of those are affordable apartment homes — that's the 25% affordable component — and the remaining 851 are market-rate homes for sale. The homes range from smaller attached plans up to larger detached houses, spanning something like one- to five-bedroom layouts. The builder is Brookfield Residential, a name a lot of Irvine buyers already know from other local communities.
On the design side, the village is knit into the trail system rather than walled off from it. There's an extension of the Jeffrey Open Space Trail planned — including a new pedestrian bridge crossing Portola Parkway — connecting the neighborhood straight into the preserve. The Irvine Company dedicated roughly 91 acres toward the residential village and that trail work.
The Real Amenity: 700 Acres of Preserve Next Door
For my money, the headline feature here isn't the houses — it's what's on the other side of them. The Gateway Preserve is about 700 acres of protected open space, managed by the Irvine Ranch Conservancy, with roughly ten miles of hiking and biking trails. And it isn't a stand-alone park; it's a doorway. The preserve connects into Irvine's larger 20,000-acre Northern Open Space system, with links toward Limestone Canyon, Black Star Canyon, and eventually the Cleveland National Forest.
Think about what that means for a buyer. In most of Irvine, "close to nature" means a nice community park and a good trail loop. Here, you'd be living at the trailhead of one of the largest preserved wildland systems in the county. For the right buyer — someone who bikes, hikes, or just wants real hills and open space out the back door instead of another retail center — that's a rare thing to be able to buy new.
The Honest Real Estate Take
Let me be straight about what this does and doesn't mean, because I'd rather you trust me than hype you.
If you're a buyer watching new construction: this is worth getting on the interest list for now, even though homes are a ways out. Model homes aren't expected until summer 2027, and the parks and amenities fill in through early 2028, so this is a "plan ahead" community, not a "move in this year" one. But new foothill product next to a 700-acre preserve, with a real affordable component built in, is going to draw a lot of attention. Buyers who understand the site early tend to have the clearest read when pricing and floor plans are released. I'm already tracking it, and I'm happy to track it for you.
If you already own nearby — Orchard Hills, [Portola Springs](/neighborhoods-portolasprings.html), Stonegate, northern Irvine — this is, on balance, good news for you. Replacing an industrial polluter with homes and protected open space removes a longstanding knock on the area's air quality and adds trails and amenities on your side of the city. New nearby supply is worth being aware of, but 851 for-sale homes released in phases over several years is not the kind of thing that floods a market like Irvine's overnight. The bigger effect is that this whole corner of the city gets more desirable, not less.
The honest caveat: this is early. Floor plans, pricing, exact phasing, and the final amenity lineup will firm up as Brookfield gets closer to opening. Anyone quoting you specific Gateway Village prices today is guessing. What we do know is the shape of it — the size, the affordability mix, the preserve, and the timeline — and that shape is a strong one.
The Bigger Picture
Irvine has spent years being defined by the [Great Park](/neighborhoods-greatpark.html) on its south-central side. Gateway Village is a reminder that the northern foothills are having their own moment — quieter, greener, and tied to open space rather than stadiums and festivals. It's a different flavor of Irvine living, and for a certain buyer it's the more appealing one. Turning the city's most notorious industrial site into homes and 700 acres of preserve is the kind of long-game move that makes a place better to own in for decades, not just this cycle.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Gateway Village in Irvine?
Gateway Village is a new master-planned neighborhood in north Irvine, near Portola Parkway and Jeffrey Road, being built on the former All American Asphalt plant site. It's planned for roughly 1,138 homes across six neighborhoods, developed by Brookfield Residential, next to the 700-acre Gateway Preserve.
How many homes will Gateway Village have, and are any affordable?
The village is planned for about 1,138 homes total. Roughly 287 of them (25%) are designated affordable apartment homes, and the remaining 851 are market-rate homes for sale.
When will Gateway Village homes be available?
Irvine broke ground in summer 2026. The first model homes are expected to open in summer 2027, with community parks and amenities following in early 2028. An interest list is open now through Brookfield Residential.
Where is Gateway Village located?
In the northeast Irvine foothills, near the intersection of Portola Parkway and Jeffrey Road, on the site of the former All American Asphalt plant — directly adjacent to the 700-acre Gateway Preserve.
What is the Gateway Preserve?
The Gateway Preserve is about 700 acres of protected open space managed by the Irvine Ranch Conservancy, with roughly ten miles of hiking and biking trails. It connects into Irvine's larger 20,000-acre Northern Open Space system, linking toward Limestone Canyon, Black Star Canyon, and the Cleveland National Forest.
Who is building Gateway Village?
Brookfield Residential is developing the for-sale homes. The City of Irvine acquired and closed the former asphalt plant, and the Irvine Company dedicated land toward the residential village and trail extensions.
Let's Talk
If you're a buyer who's intrigued by the idea of new foothill homes at the doorstep of a 700-acre preserve, this is exactly the kind of community worth getting ahead of — and I'm already following it closely. I can get you on the right interest lists, flag the moment floor plans and pricing drop, and help you figure out whether Gateway Village or one of Irvine's [existing villages](/neighborhoods-greatpark.html) actually fits how you live. And if you own nearby and you're curious what all this new activity means for your home's value, [reach out anytime](/contact.html) and I'll run you the [real number in today's market](/home-valuation.html).