IRVINE : Builders Pick Woodbridge for Award

The Urban Land Institute has named the city’s Woodbridge Village the nation’s best large-scale residential development, nearly 20 years after construction of the 1,750-acre community began.

The Urban Land Institute, an international organization of building industry professionals, based the Award of Excellence on design, land use and community life.

Four out of the city’s five council members live in the 27,000-resident community, including Mayor Michael Ward, president of the Woodbridge Village Assn. from 1989 to 1991.

“It’s a one-of-a-kind development,” Ward said. “You’ll never see another one like it.”

Woodbridge Village residents often refer to their community as the “city within the city,” Ward said. More than 20% of the city’s residents live in Woodbridge. The community’s two lakes are stocked with large-mouth bass and catfish for fishing and residents also take to the water in canoes and paddle boats.

The Woodbridge Village Assn. has created an array of recreational programs for residents of the community’s 9,292 homes and apartments. It was the first village planned by the Irvine Co. entirely under city jurisdiction and includes 200 acres of open space.

“We feel Woodbridge is among the very best communities in America, not only because of the quality of the master plan, but also because of the people who have made it a great community,” said Keith Greer, president of Irvine Community Builders, an Irvine Co. division.

Woodbridge home sales began in 1976 with the nation’s largest new home sales lottery. There were 7,000 families who vied for one of the 240 available homes in a single weekend. Residential development was completed in 1987.