The homes in Orange
Orange has some of the oldest housing in the county. Old Towne, the square mile around the Plaza, has Victorian, Craftsman bungalow, Spanish Colonial Revival and Mediterranean Revival homes, many of them built before 1920. Outside Old Towne, most of the city is postwar tract housing. The east side, toward the foothills, has newer hillside communities.
Neighborhoods and tracts
The Old Towne Historic District was added to the National Register in 1997. Orange also has three Eichler tracts, Fairhaven, Fairmeadow and Fairhills, built in the early 1960s in the mid-century modern style. The city made them local historic districts in 2018, with their own design standards.
East Orange includes Santiago Hills and Serrano Heights. Orange Park Acres is an unincorporated county island surrounded by the city, with lots of about 20,000 square feet and fenced horse trails. El Modena and Olive are older communities with their own names. Villa Park is a separate city that Orange surrounds.
Schools
The city is served by Orange Unified School District, which also covers Villa Park and parts of neighboring cities. The district's high schools are Orange High School and El Modena High School in Orange, Villa Park High School, and Canyon High School in Anaheim Hills. Middle schools include Yorba, Portola and Cerro Villa, and McPherson Magnet School is a district magnet.
Which schools are assigned depends on the address, and the lines between the high schools cut across the city. Chapman University is next to Old Towne, and Santiago Canyon College is on the east side. Ask Tony to confirm the assigned schools for a specific address.
Parks, shopping and landmarks
The Plaza, where Glassell Street and Chapman Avenue meet, has a central fountain and is ringed by antique shops and restaurants. The Orange International Street Fair has been held downtown over Labor Day weekend since 1973. Hart Park is at the south edge of Old Towne. Santiago Oaks Regional Park and Irvine Regional Park are on the east side. The Outlets at Orange and The Village at Orange are the two large shopping centers.
Getting around
The 5, the 57 and the 22 meet on the west side at the interchange known as the Orange Crush. The 55 runs north to south through the middle of the city, and the 241 and 261 toll roads serve the east side. Orange station, in Old Towne next to the former Santa Fe depot, has Metrolink Orange County Line and Inland Empire-Orange County Line trains.
Buying in Orange
In Old Towne and the Eichler tracts, most exterior changes are reviewed against the city's design standards. Small projects can be approved by staff, and larger ones go to the Design Review Committee. Ask Tony what that means for the changes you have in mind, and whether the home has a Mills Act contract.
In east Orange, ask Tony to check for an HOA, for Mello-Roos, which the city set up for Serrano Heights, and for fire hazard zone status near the foothills. Tony is also a licensed mortgage loan originator (NMLS ID 2359276) and can go through what you may be able to borrow before you tour.
Selling in Orange
In the historic districts, buyers look for original features and want to know that past work was approved, so gather permits and any design review approvals before listing. In the hillside tracts, have the HOA documents and tax bill ready. Tony is a REALTOR licensed in California since 2007 and works in Orange from his office at The Real Estate Solution in Cerritos.
