New Lake Forest Civic Center Open For Business & It’s Seriously Impressive.
This cost $73 million. None of it was yours.
Lake Forest’s New City Hall Is A Sprawling Craftsman-Style Campus Located At 100 Civic Center Drive, Lake Forest, CA 92630 - Images By Jim Wynne’s Team At Kidder Mathews
Lake Forest, CA: Wow, Montana is nice this time of year! Wait a minute, this isn’t a rustic ranch vacation spot – it’s the brand-new Lake Forest Civic Center! The four-building, 103,000sf campus has been 25 years in the making. It opened at the end of 2019, but finishing touches are still being wrapped up across the massive facility. First impressions: This place is REALLY nice – and no details were spared in its creation.
By Arrow Santos
You could tell things were going to be impressive when a literal mile away new traffic lights were installed, roads were extended, and the street leading to the property was renamed to “Civic Center Drive” (previously Indian Ocean Drive).
Multi-Level Parking Structure With Solar Panels At The New Lake Forest Civic Center - Images By Jim Wynne’s Team At Kidder Mathews
Hundreds of premium parking spaces wait for visitors on site. In fact, the parking lot stretches for over 300 yards and wraps around three edges of the premises. It includes electric vehicle charging stations, a two-story parking garage, shade structures equipped with solar panels, and ground-level spaces placed atop a special composite flooring to minimize wear-and-tear and assist in drainage of standing water.
Now that we’re parked, let’s take a quick look back before moving further ahead.
A Dream Created (The History)
Since the mid-1990s, Lake Forest city officials have planned for a permanent Civic Center estate. A benefit of the dual decade devising was the resulting masterclass in public service, construction, and project execution. The eye-watering price tag of approximately $73 million was raised without requiring taxpayer participation. The City of Lake Forest sourced the funding through Public Facility Fees, a special assessment paid by housing developers on every new home constructed within the City’s limits. This prudent plan created around $40 million to be available in the bank to get things started. The remaining millions will be covered by future residential developments in the area.
New Lake Forest Civic Center Campus - Siteplan by Jim Wynne’s Team At Kidder Mathews
Map Needed. No Seriously, Look At The Map.
4 Buildings. 1 Campus.
1. Senior Center
2. Admin Building & Police Services
3. Council Chambers & Performing Arts Building
4. Community Center
The Council Chambers Stage Set Up For Town Hall Meetings - Images By Jim Wynne’s Team At Kidder Mathews
Past Planned, Future Proofed
The sprawling craftsman-style quadripartite campus is not just superfluous ornamental architecture but a comprehensive habitat for a connected community lifestyle. Packed with advanced technologies, eco-friendly fixtures, and the ability for flexible layout options ensures the City will deliver on the vision of a “100-year home”. Refillable watering stations, intercoms, LED lighting, digital access security systems, wheelchair platform stairlift, and full Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified features are standard installations across the project.
Hundreds Of Seats Ready For An Audience In Lake Forest’s New Auditorium - Images By Jim Wynne’s Team At Kidder Mathews
The Performing Arts Building and Council Chambers sports 200 auditorium bucket seats, a sound and lighting booth positioned in a private balcony (to be manned by a multi-person production team), and massive stage. The entire chamber was designed with sound-proofing materials to overcome the cavernous echo of most large open rooms. The stage can be configured to accommodate various meetings and performances. Congress-worthy councilperson chairs, in-desk television monitors, and towering backdrop are all built onto a wheeled track allowing the stage to be completely cleared in a matter of minutes.
Council Member Seating In Lake Forest’s New City Hall - Images By Jim Wynne’s Team At Kidder Mathews
Entering the deluxe backstage dressing rooms you can feel the high-octane fire of innovation and dreams coiled in the air. You’d be forgiven for thinking you stumbled into a Broadway spectacle: mirrored walls, makeup counters, private kitchen, cue-in intercoms, and beauty lighting surround and dazzle you from every direction. The intercom buzzes, the hallway lights drop, and you can feel your face flush hot as the adrenaline-inducing applause ushers you into the blazing stage lights! Various local groups will be hosting regular performances at the theater. Maybe we will see you in one of them? This is also where scheduled city meetings will be held for all Lake Forest civic affairs. Whether the talent or the entertained, make sure to come enjoy a memorable night while staying close to home.
Backstage Talent Prep Area With Beauty Lights, Mirrors, Kitchen, TVs, & More! All In Lake Forest’s Performing Arts Center - Images By Jim Wynne’s Team At Kidder Mathews
Safety Starts Here
Lake Forest’s police services have a new headquarters! Deputies and staff have a dedicated building at the civic center for all your public safety needs. Everyday operations will continue as normal from the Police Services and Admin building, and future disasters were also taken into account. Secured inside the gated police vehicle lot is a tremendous 1,100+ gallon diesel power generator. This hulking apparatus can provide electricity to the entire campus without noticeable interruptions for over 24 hours. If directed to only power the critical emergency service systems, it could last for days at a time. This ensures first responder communication equipment, computer gear, and other life-saving components are self-sustaining regardless of outside circumstances. The backup power is controlled by an impressive 4ft by 7ft Automatic Transfer Switch bypass, something unfortunately overlooked by the operators of Jurassic Park. That’s right – no one will be getting chased by Velociraptors to get the electricity back online at Lake Forest City Hall! Should the mainline utility power go down, the ATS instantly transfers the usage load to the diesel system AND sends a distress alert out via the fire monitoring lines. But what if the monitoring lines are down?! Fear not! Each of the building's fire monitoring panels sync to a multi-channel alarm system using the cell tower network. If the cell network became unusable, the monitoring system falls back to a mesh radio network to send the distress signal. There is also a public announcement system installed throughout the premises for emergency broadcasts if needed.
1,100+ Gallon Emergency Power Generator At The Lake Forest Civic Center - Images By Jim Wynne’s Team At Kidder Mathews
The most-interesting boring fact you will read today: instead of traditional HVAC equipment, the buildings use a Variable Refrigerant Flow system. The VRF set up requires almost no ducting, minimal exterior fan units, and re-uses the air already in a room to heat or cool the area. This modern setup not only scores big sustainability points by needing lower energy output, it also allows individual rooms (or sections) to be cooled or heated independently from the rest of the property. No thermostat battles here!
Past Proofed, Future Planned
Last but not least are the Community Center and Senior Center (two separate buildings, check your map!). Lake Forest has long had a robust platform for “50 and better” community members, but activities were previously spread between multiple locations. Senior Recreation Supervisor Courtney Wysocki said that having all programs moved under a single roof will help erase confusion and allow more people to use the available resources.
“It’s beautiful, every day I come in and I think I’m at some ski resort,” Wysocki gushed about the gorgeous ambiance created by the craftsman architecture and modern features.
The City has already added around 10 additional classes by using the new space available.
Such classes have a huge range, from the on-site computer lab to bingo, catered lunches, yoga and wellness groups, how-to classes for taxes, golfing, dances, brunch, and many more happenings throughout the year. All hosted classes are free or low cost to ensure anyone who wants to attend, can attend. The City even has a round-trip shuttle service that provides rides for only $1 to any residents 60 years of age or older. The shuttle is exclusive for the civic center and provides door-to-door service for the riders; no waiting at bus stops or missing daily classes due to transportation hurdles. Free health and wellness resources are hosted at the new facility, providing basic medical checkups, insurance counseling, prescription reviews, and the answering of legal questions to keep our golden citizens safe and healthy.
With the center open every day, Wysocki spoke of the close bonds formed amongst neighbors. “It’s really rewarding to come in. They know all of each other’s backgrounds and stories and history. Some people meet their significant others at the centers, or they meet their new best friend. We have some that come here every single day,” Wysocki shared, “And that’s because they just want to have fun. To give them that option to come here, I think that’s pretty special.”
Wysocki is on the employee team dedicated to the Senior Center. They look to continue expanding their outreach efforts and are planning to launch social media accounts to digitally connect with their community members. Each campus building has its own focused staff to ensure maximum attention is provided to each function offered by the City. There is also a strong workforce of local volunteers that help with running aspects of the City programs. After the grand opening, it was estimated 250 seniors were in attendance for the weekly bingo sessions!
Wysocki said the biggest thing she’s learned in her public service role, “even if something doesn’t apply to you, doesn’t mean it won’t apply to you in the future; or you may know someone else that may need that service.”
Regardless of your current age or social involvement, a City-sponsored bright future is an exciting and comforting prospect for everyone. The full breadth of the Senior Center outreach deserves its own article, as this barely scrapes the surface of what is offered.
Luxury Event Space In The Lake Forest Community Center - Images By Jim Wynne’s Team At Kidder Mathews
The new campus also has a Community Center dedicated to event space. A divisible dining hall can be split into multiple configurations to fit your specific party needs. This space can accommodate over 1,000 people at once, with three projectors and audio equipment at the ready. Forming a central courtyard is an enormous pavilion patio space with a rustic oversized fireplace. A commercial kitchen on-site allows for local vendors to serve up fresh food and drinks right on the premises. This kitchen space is also used to provide regular lunch options for those attending the Senior Center classes throughout the week.
See you there!
As a final show of dedication to detail, the interior artwork and decorations were all locally sourced from around the community. No stuffy corporate pictures here! As you explore the property, notice the images of local landmarks, native plants, and other recognizable photos of our very own backyards. There are even tree rings from the local forest that are now mounted in the city halls forever!
Have you visited the new civic center yet? The address is 100 Civic Center Dr., Lake Forest, CA 92630. We hope to see you at some of the community events throughout the year. Kidder Mathews was honored to be chosen as the commercial property manager for the City of Lake Forest. We would like to give a special thanks and congratulations to all of the staff, volunteers, and residents that helped make this long-time civic center dream a reality! Let us know your first impressions upon visiting; send us a letter or email to have your response featured in next month’s newsletter. For all things business park news and Lake Forest commercial real estate related, bookmark our website at www.wynnecre.com/news.