Rancho Mission Viejo's Sendero Named America's 'Master-Planned Community of the Year'

RANCHO MISSION VIEJO, Calif.  (February 19, 2014)  – Sendero, the first village of approximately 940 for-sale and 285 apartment homes within the expansive new community of Rancho Mission Viejo in Orange County, CA, was just named America’s “Master-Planned Community of the Year” by the Sales and Marketing Council of The National Association of Home Builders. 

The prestigious honor was awarded this month during the International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas, NV after an initial competition to secure five finalists from entries received throughout the country.  Competing for the top honor was Rancho Mission Viejo and finalist communities in Colorado, Georgia, Texas and Virginia.   

Since the grand opening of its first inter-generational village of Sendero last Summer, Rancho Mission Viejo has garnered numerous awards and accolades for its innovative design and sales and marketing achievement, including being named “Master-Planned Community of the Year” in 2013 by the Greater Sales and Marketing Council for the Building Industry Association of Southern California.    

Planned to ultimately provide 14,000 homes (including 6,000 homes for people age 55-plus), the community of Rancho Mission Viejo is envisioned to include multiple mixed-use villages on a collective 6,000 acres of the historical 23,000-acre Rancho Mission Viejo, held by the same family since 1882.  Additional facilities planned for The Ranch community include sites for new schools, parks and recreational facilities, and up to five million square feet of commercial uses.  Surrounding the villages of Rancho Mission Viejo are approximately 17,000 acres of protect open spaces called The Reserve at Rancho Mission Viejo.

“We are so honored to receive this award and be named the top master-planned community in the United States by our peers,” said Nadine Corrigan, Vice President of Marketing for Rancho Mission Viejo, LLC, stewards of Rancho Mission Viejo and community master planners/developers. “The nationwide competition was impressive, so this award is especially gratifying and we are delighted the homebuyer response to Sendero continues to surpass our sales expectations.”

Rancho Mission Viejo celebrated its grand opening in late June 2013 with the opening of 11 different residential neighborhoods (by eight homebuilders) within the 940-home village of Sendero.   Currently, three of Sendero’s neighborhoods offer primarily single story homes within the gated 55-plus enclave of Gavilan.   Approximately 10,000 homeshoppers attended the grand opening of Sendero; and to date, 435 homes have been sold within just under eight months.  One neighborhood by Del Webb has sold out all of its homes. 

Sendero home prices currently range from the high $300,000s to over $1 million; and Sendero homebuilders now include Meritage Homes, Ryland Homes, SeaCountry Homes, Shea Homes, Standard Pacific Homes, TriPointe Homes, and William Lyon Homes.  Construction is expected to comment this year on approximately 285 apartment units by Western National Group. 

 Also open at Sendero are three clubhouses (one exclusive to Gavilan residents), two fitness centers, pools, spas, a large “all age” village green with pathways leading to tot lots and picnic areas, bocce ball courts, fire pits, turf playgrounds, a native plant garden, and even a putting green as well as hiking/biking trails accessing select open spaces and a County Regional trails system.  In addition, now under construction and slated for a Fall 2014 opening are Sendero Field (a 15-acre community park) and the vegetable and fruit gardens of Sendero Farm.  Also planned for Sendero are the 10-acre Ranch Marketplace retail plaza and a fire station. 

“With its diversity of home styles for different age ranges and household compositions, combined with a superb array of recreational amenities and social engagement activities, Sendero serves as a new model for how inter-generational living is being defined,” said Corrigan.  “The Ranch is where singles, families and active adults of all backgrounds are provided with opportunities to intermingle and  connect based on interests versus age.”    

Sendero on The Ranch is situated near the intersection of Ortega Highway and Antonio Parkway, just 2.3 miles from downtown San Juan Capistrano and five miles from San Clemente and Doheny State Beach.  Sendero offers easy access to the employment and retail centers of Ladera Ranch, Mission Viejo, Irvine, Rancho Santa Margarita and other Orange County areas.             

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Rancho Mission Viejo, LLC is a privately held, family-owned and -operated company responsible for the ranching, farming, planning, development, and financial management of the remaining 23,000 acres of Rancho Mission Viejo, situated in unincorporated South Orange County, CA.  Since 1882, members of the O’Neill/Avery/Moiso family have owned and managed The Ranch which once exceeded 200,000 acres and now includes the family-developed cities and communities of Ladera Ranch, Las Flores, Mission Viejo and Rancho Santa Margarita as well as such important places as Caspers Wilderness Regional Park, the Starr Ranch Audubon Sanctuary, O’Neill Regional Park and Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.