A not so ‘Great Park’

The control tower at the old El Toro Marine Base in Irvine is now surrounded by RV storage instead of fighter jets.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Some of the hangars at the old El Toro Marine Base in Irvine are still visible from the Irvine Transportation Center.   (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Many of the relics and signs at the old El Toro Marine Base in Irvine are still standing where the city is supposed to be building its Great Park.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

A security gate guards the former housing area at the old El Toro Marine Base in Irvine where the city will eventually build its Great Park.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

A hawk keeps an eye on the activities at the Great Park in Irvine. With tens of millions of dollars spent, the promise of a park with rivers, canyons and forests resembling New York’s Central Park is mostly still a collection of old hangars, military structures and reminders of the old El Toro Marine Base.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Many of the storage buildings and hangars at the old El Toro Marine Base in Irvine are still standing where the city is slowly building its Great Park.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Irvine city officials are taking a hard look at the tens of millions of dollars that have been spent on the park, which was promised to rival New York’s Central Park.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)