2 Historic Buffalo Ranch Buildings Will Be Moved to County Fairgrounds

Two structures from the historic Buffalo Ranch will be relocated to the Orange County Fairgrounds in November--and everything is free of charge, a spokeswoman for the fair said Thursday.

The fair’s board of directors Thursday agreed to accept a donation of the buildings by the Irvine Co., which owns the ranch, to move the two structures to the fairground, fair spokeswoman Jill Lloyd said.

“They’ll fit in with the motif of the fairgrounds perfectly,” she said.

The two structures--one that resembles a silo, the other a two-story barn--will be used by the fair for public meetings, educational classes and to provide additional office space, a much-needed commodity these days.

The Buffalo Ranch, situated near Ford Road and MacArthur Boulevard, is dotted with 15 structures, all of them built in the 1960s by well-known architect William Pereira, Lloyd said.

The Irvine Co. has development plans for the ranch, which is zoned for retail or residential use. Instead of demolishing the buildings, the company would like to preserve them by relocating them to the fairgrounds, Lloyd said.

What will happen to the remainder of the buildings is not yet known.

Joe Davis, vice president of land development for Irvine Community Builders, a division of the Irvine Co., could not be reached for comment. Michelle Sweet, a communications consultant for the Irvine Co., said the company will not build anything on the site for at least two years--and must first get permission from the city of Irvine.