# University Park: Where the Irvine Dream Began By Jeff Wermuth (@jeffwermuth) · Published 2026-08-15 · Updated 2026-08-21 Canonical: https://voce.com/@jeffwermuth/university-park-irvine-dream-began-u21pmw --- Welcome to the first stop on the Reel Tours series — a video-style drive-through of all 22 villages of Irvine, and I'm your guide, Jeff Wermuth of First Team. In 17 years showing homes across every corner of this city, I've told hundreds of buyers that the modern Irvine dream was actually tested here first. University Park, Irvine's very first village, debuted in 1965 — one year after the UC Irvine campus opened — on land the Irvine Company's bold bet on a "city of intellect" was built. Six decades on, it's still the gold standard every other village has been measured against, and it's where I love to start a tour. #### Key Takeaways - University Park is Irvine's first village, built in 1965 one year after UC Irvine opened - It was designed on Garden City principles, with homes clustered around greenbelts and pocket parks - California Modern architecture with low-pitched roofs and clerestory windows defines its character - The Adventure Playground, community parks and Irvine's first library and high school anchor family life - Mature greenery and diverse housing keep it one of Irvine's most stable, walkable village picks ![University Park Irvine greenbelt homes](https://convex.voce.com/api/storage/f35f2f66-d909-48a4-a790-4ed784fe41ab) ## How University Park Became Irvine's First Village University Park is the oldest planned community in Irvine, built in phases starting in 1965 — five years before Irvine incorporated as a city in 1971. Commercially advertised as Irvine's first "village," it takes its name from its proximity to the University of California, Irvine campuses, and its planners designed it to attract buyers of every sort, from academics to young families ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_Park,_Irvine,_California)). It was the Irvine Company's first master-planned community, and the early development of the village predates the existence of Irvine as a city by about five years ([Jacqueline Thompson Group](https://jacquelinethompsongroup.com/neighborhoods/university-park)). Irvine was planned as a "city of intellect" with villages emanating from the new UC Irvine campus. As that vision played out, one year after UC Irvine opened in 1965, University Park debuted as the city's first village ([Irvine Connection](https://www.irvineconnection.com/irvines-22-villages)). ## How the 1960s Master Plan Built Irvine's First Village Irvine didn't happen by accident. In 1960 the Irvine Company sold 1,000 acres of its roughly 93,000-acre ranch to the University of California so UC Irvine could be built, with the university buying the land for a token sum ([UCI Libraries — The Big Plan](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCROhdTBZ70)). The company then drafted a Master Plan to guide the orderly development of the entire Irvine Ranch. Architect William Pereira, who also designed San Francisco's Transamerica tower, saw his plan land on the cover of Time magazine in September 1963 ([Good Planning](https://www.goodplanning.org/master-plan)). The village concept dates to that same ambition. Planners envisioned a city being built around the new university, with villages that mixed residential, industrial, commercial and greenbelt areas. University Park was where those ideas first became streets. ![University Park garden city greenbelt](https://convex.voce.com/api/storage/abf2d9e6-862d-4a85-8ca1-2743fac0a1d9) ## Why the "park" matters: Garden City design and mature trees The name University Park isn't decorative — the whole village was built on Garden City principles, a design movement that clustered homes around publicly accessible greenbelts and pocket parks to reduce dependence on cars. Planners Peter Walker, Dick Law and Kalvin Platt of Sasaki, Walker and Associates designed clusters of homes to face park areas tucked away from main roads ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_Park,_Irvine,_California)). Those greenbelts do real work: they link homes to schools, the library, shopping centers and recreation areas on foot. At the time, the planning was considered experimental, including the use of rectangular cul-de-sacs with greenery in the center instead of the usual rounded dead-ends ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_Park,_Irvine,_California)). Nearly every home sits near a park or greenway. Neighborhoods — University, The Terrace, Parkside, Parkcrest, Village Park and Parkwood — are threaded with tree-lined walkways that extend behind the properties and connect to the whole village ([Jacqueline Thompson Group](https://jacquelinethompsongroup.com/neighborhoods/university-park)). ## Life in the village: parks, playgrounds and firsts Day-to-day life in University Park is built around the sort of amenities the master plan promised. The centerpiece is the University Community Park, a facility next to the county library branch and University Park Elementary that includes soccer fields, tennis courts, a basketball court, volleyball courts, a ball diamond and a large playscape ([Jacqueline Thompson Group](https://jacquelinethompsongroup.com/neighborhoods/university-park)). Right beside it sits the **Adventure Playground**, an unstructured playscape of climbing structures and toys that kids love — a small theme park of play areas that captures the village's family-first spirit ([Jacqueline Thompson Group](https://jacquelinethompsongroup.com/neighborhoods/university-park)). Smaller parks like Banyan Tree Playground, Willow Tree Park and Dave Robins Park dot the neighborhood. University Park also anchored education in Irvine. As the first village, it held many of the city's earliest community institutions — its first library, first high school and first retail shopping center were all here, along with University High School, Rancho San Joaquin Middle School and University Park Elementary ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_Park,_Irvine,_California)). ## Real estate in the village that stays green From a buyer's standpoint, University Park's big draw is a housing mix you rarely find in one Irvine village: detached single-family homes, townhomes, condos and apartments, all linked by greenways and quiet streets. Zero-lot-line construction lets homes sit flush with property lines, which frees up yards and makes the tree-lined lots easier to enjoy ([Jacqueline Thompson Group](https://jacquelinethompsongroup.com/neighborhoods/university-park)). Architecture leans California Modern: low-pitched and shed roofs, clerestory windows, projecting support beams and muted textures that blur indoor and outdoor life ([Jacqueline Thompson Group](https://jacquelinethompsongroup.com/neighborhoods/university-park)). In 2004, architectural historian Alan Hess described walking an open house here and finding an atrium entry and glass walls that "put the interior stairway on display, blurring the line between indoor and outdoor space as you expect in California Modern" ([Places Journal](https://placesjournal.org/article/discovering-irvine)). Prices reflect that mix and demand. The village is bounded by University Drive to the south, Culver Drive to the west and the San Diego (I-405) Freeway to the north, with Turtle Rock to the south and Woodbridge across the freeway ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_Park,_Irvine,_California)). Mature greenery and six decades of stable, well-managed planning keep it a consistent, walkable pick for buyers who want Irvine's original character rather than a newer, barer tract. ## Is University Park worth the visit on your next Irvine tour Start your own Irvine search where the city did. University Park is the literal beginning of master-planned Irvine — first village by a five-year margin, designed around greenspace, anchored by Irvine's first schools and library, and still full of original residents who never left. That longevity is the strongest signal of all: people who buy here tend to stay. If you're comparing villages, know that University Park's tradeoff is age over amenities — you won't find the brand-new resort pools of a newer village, but you gain six decades of towering trees, a mature, walkable street plan and a location steps from UCI. For first-time buyers and families who want roots, not just a tract, it is the gold standard the other 21 villages have been measured against ever since. **Pro Tip** The Adventure Playground sits beside the county library branch and University Park Elementary, next to soccer fields, tennis courts and basketball courts. Entry runs about two dollars per person and it opens at 10am daily — an easy stop on a Reel Tours drive-through.