As Measure W Looms, County Offers Look at El Toro Terminal
By MICHAEL LYSTER
A critical vote on El Toro is just a month away, but county officials say they’re pressing on with plans for an airport at the former Marine base. Their latest effort: an initial rendering of what a terminal at El Toro might look like.
The building looks more like a sleek South County industrial park than an airport terminal. It features Southwestern oranges and yellows, octagon-shaped towers and even a reflection pond.
Gary Simon, executive director of the county’s El Toro Local Redevelopment Authority and an architect himself, said he and others spent a week at the base coming up with ideas for the terminal.
“We all live here and know what Fashion Island and the Irvine Spectrum are all about,” Simon said.
The terminal represents a first phase and would be about the size of John Wayne Airport’s facility. It would house some 22 gates. An expanded terminal is envisioned after about five years, Simon said.
The terminal also includes several security features, Simon said. For one, the curbside drop-off area is farther away from the terminal than at most airports and is linked by a pedestrian bridge.
“El Toro could be the newest airport terminal designed from scratch after Sept. 11,” Simon said.
But Simon’s work could come to naught. On March 5, voters are set to weigh in on Measure W, the so-called great park initiative that would rezone El Toro from an airport to a park. The measure’s chances of passing are strong.
“Regardless of the ballot measures, the planning process has continued,” Simon said. “For us, board policy is to build an airport at El Toro.”
Still, Simon is realistic: “If Measure W passes it will virtually kill the airport.”
If Measure W is approved, work won’t necessarily stop on an airport, Simon said, pending court challenges.
“We’re hoping the business community starts getting engaged and understanding the value of what an airport at El Toro will mean for their businesses,” Simon said.
Simon said he expects airport opponents to attack the terminal renderings as a way of trying to sell the airport with a sexy building.
“We aren’t exaggerating look and feel,” Simon said. “Airport opponents have a scorched-earth policy. They will disagree with anybody that embraces the airport.”
