New homes in Irvine surrounded by open space receive highest honor from

      National Association of Home Builders at Annual Awards Ceremony



    NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., July 29 /EMWNews/ -- Portola Springs

(http://tinyurl.com/6fe6t4), a residential village designed and developed

by Irvine Community Development Company featuring new homes in Irvine, was

honored for its innovative planning and design excellence as "Master

Planned Community of the Year" during the prestigious 45th Annual Gold

Nugget Awards ceremony at the Pacific Coast Builders Conference (PCBC).

This marks the third time one of the Villages of Irvine

(http://www.villagesofirvine.com/) communities received a coveted "Master

Planned Community of the Year" award. In addition, Portola Springs received

a Gold Nugget Award for "Best Community Site Plan."



    "Portola Springs is an exceptional master planned community and well

deserving of this award," said Jenny Sullivan, PCBC judge and Senior Editor

for Builder Magazine.



    The Gold Nugget is one of the real estate industry's highest honors and

marks creative achievement and excellence in land use, planning and

architectural design for residential, retail and commercial industrial

developments throughout 14 western states.



    "These awards demonstrate that we have succeeded in designing an

attractive, innovative village that meets the needs of today's homebuyers

as they seek a unique environment for their families found only in the

Villages of Irvine," said Dan Young, President of Irvine Community

Development Company LLC, an affiliate of The Irvine Company LLC.



    The master planned community of Portola Springs features amenities

(http://tinyurl.com/6zavav) that include swimming pools, sports courts and

grassy picnic areas. Portola Springs residents also enjoy 100 acres of

natural habitat preserved in the heart of the village.



    In addition to Portola Springs' Gold Nugget award, the city of Irvine

was recently recognized as the Safest Big City in America by the FBI and

was rated as one of the best places to live in the U.S. by Money Magazine.



    For more information about new homes in Irvine at the Village of

Portola Springs or other new homes in Irvine, please visit

http://www.villagesofirvine.com. Information is also available by

contacting a Villages of Irvine New Home Consultant at (888) 820-0721.

    About The Irvine Company



    The Irvine Company is a privately held, 140-year-old real estate

planning, development and investment company best known for the Villages of

Irvine(TM), the balanced, sustainable communities it has planned and

created in Orange County, Calif.