Your City. Your Civic Center. Your Voice.

Building Community, Building Opportunity.

The Lake Forest Civic Center Project is a multi-year effort focused on the design and construction of the new Civic Center. The 8-acre Lake Forest Civic Center will be located in the center of the community, south of Commercentre Drive at the end of Indian Ocean Drive, which will be officially renamed "Civic Center Drive" next year. This page will keep you updated on all the latest project news. We hope you find the resources on this page useful, and if you’re ever unable to find what you’re looking for, please send us an email or give us a call. We look forward to working with you!

Civic Center Planning Principles

Reflect Lake Forest. Emphasize the pastoral landscape, natural topography, and unique history that set Lake Forest apart from its neighbors.
Be a destination. Develop the Civic Center complex as a destination through site location, architecture, and landscaping.
Provide new amenities. Prioritize services at the Civic Center currently unavailable to the community.
Accommodate multiple uses. Design the Civic Center buildings and amenities to accommodate multiple uses whenever possible.

Project Updates

On May 16, the City approved a $7.6 million contract to ARB Structures of Lake Forest for the Civic Center Parking Deck project. Design of the parking deck will begin late May and construction will begin later this year. On April 18, the City approved a $2.4 million contract to Sukut Construction for the Civic Center Phase 1 Rough Grading project. Rough grading began the first week of May and is anticipated to be completed in September. Once the site is graded, contractors will install utilities followed by construction of the single level parking deck. Utilities and Civic Center Drive street improvements along with the parking garage are projected to be completed in early 2018. Construction of the four campus buildings (Community Center, Senior Center, Council Chambers/Performing Arts Venue, and City Hall/Community Policing) will begin after utility work is completed. The Civic Center is expected to open in late spring or early summer 2019.

Construction Timeline

Phase	Schedule
Phase 1 - Rough Grading	May 2017 to September 2017
Phase 2 - Utilities and Civic Center Drive Street Improvements	October 2017 to February 2018
Phase 3 - Parking Garage	May 2017 to February 2018
Phase 4 - Campus Buildings	December 2017 to June 2019
Phase 5 - Habitat Restoration	August 2017 to December 2017