Woodbury Recognized as ''Best Master-Planned Community of the Year''; Popular Community Garners Top Honors at Pacific Coast Building Conference's Gold Nugget Awards Ceremony.

IRVINE, Calif. -- The village of Woodbury on The Irvine Ranch(R) recently received the Gold Nugget Award for "Best Master Planned Community of the Year" at the Pacific Coast Building Conference (PCBC) in San Francisco, CA.

The Gold Nugget award was the fourth major honor received by Woodbury. It was named "Best Master Planned Community of the Year" by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) earlier this year; "Best Master Planned Community of the Year" in 2005 during the Southern California homebuilding industry's annual Major Achievement in Marketing Excellence (MAME) Awards; and won the Gold Nugget "Best on the Boards" Award during the West Coast Builders Show in 2004.

Specifically, the Gold Nugget Awards are among the real estate industry's highest honors and mark creative achievement and excellence in land use planning and architectural design for residential, retail and commercial developments since 1963. This year's competition, which was open to entrants from 14 western states and all international countries, yielded 677 entries.

"Woodbury was the clear winner in this category," said PCBC judge Rick Emsiek, AIA, of McLarand Vasquez Emsiek & Partners, Inc. in Irvine. "The community demonstrates a land plan that is ideal for the site, very walkable, classic in design, and creative in its wide range of home styles and architecture -- very well thought out and intelligently designed for people. We are very impressed with Woodbury."

Woodbury is a traditionally designed village of diverse residential districts offering a wide selection of new-home neighborhoods, parks, playgrounds, and pathways that link homes to planned retail and commercial shops and services, schools, and more. A traditional grid design encompasses eight unique districts of residential homes, highlighted by 14 neighborhood squares, gardens and parks positioned around a 30-acre central gathering place known as "The Commons," which, when completed this fall, will offer athletic fields, a tot lot, recreation center and swimming pools.

"It is an exceptional honor to receive such a coveted award for excellence in architecture, design and planning," said Joseph Davis, President of Irvine Community Development Company LLC, an affiliate of The Irvine Company LLC. "Woodbury is a unique community that offers a rare combination of traditional, small-town design elements coupled with the kinds of modern conveniences that today's homeshoppers have come to expect and demand. This award showcases the fact that we have succeeded in designing an architecturally innovative community as well as meeting the needs of homeshoppers seeking an amenity-rich environment in which to live and raise a family."

A hallmark of Woodbury's unique appeal among homeshoppers is its diversity. The community offers an architecturally balanced mix of single-family detached homes, town homes, condominiums, and apartments - approximately 4,270 in all. Architectural designs include Provence/Tuscan, Spanish/Monterey/Santa Barbara, and Formal Italian/Formal French. Each of the proposed 11 districts will showcase its own style and character of traditional architecture, along with a mosaic of parks and gardens. Landmark-caliber monuments, nostalgically designed streetlights, conversation benches and shady tree-lined streets will further define the personality of each district within Woodbury.

Woodbury's other noted design elements include its emphasis on offering residents a wealth of outdoor recreation and social activities. Ultimately, homeowners will enjoy access to a 20-acre park, 14 unique squares and garden parks, and a tapestry of scenic trails and paseos that will link homes with the Jeffrey Open Space Trail, the proposed 70-acre Gateway Park, and numerous additional recreational opportunities found on The Irvine Ranch.

Woodbury is ideally situated close to several major business and employment centers, including the shops, restaurants, and entertainment offerings of the Irvine Spectrum Center(R). In addition, Woodbury is served by the renowned Irvine Unified School District, and has plans for both an elementary school and middle school.

Neighborhoods currently selling in Woodbury include Bowen Court by California Pacific Homes, Cortile by California Pacific Homes, Four Quartets by John Laing Homes, Garland Park by William Lyon Homes, Mille Fleurs by Standard Pacific Homes, Portisol by California Pacific Homes, Stone Tree Manor by John Laing Homes, and Villa Rosa by Lennar Homes.

To visit the award-winning community of Woodbury, exit the I-5 Freeway at Jeffrey Road and head east to Long Meadow. Make a right onto Long Meadow into Woodbury. Prospective homebuyers can also call The New virtual Homefinding Center(TM) at 888-820-0721.