Orange, CA Real Estate

Orange

The City of Orange is one of Orange County’s best kept secrets. Whether you are in the market for a small to medium home in a newer, gated community, semi-rural horse property, or a craftsman bungalow in a neighborhood of 100-year old homes, Orange has it all.

Downtown Orange is centered around “Oldtown,” the area around the “Orange Circle” – otherwise known as the traffic circle where Chapman Ave. and Glassell Streets join. Here you will find outdoor dining ranging from Cuban food to natural goodies – you can even have breakfast in an old gas station or enjoy a malt at an original drug store soda fountain. Stores run the gamut from art galleries to fancy jewelers to an Army-Navy store. Today, much of the success of the downtown Orange area is due to the decision to keep and maintain the historic nature of the downtown instead of bulldozing and redeveloping it.

Every Labor Day weekend, the Orange Circle is blocked off for the Orange International Street Fair – every ethnic club in town from the Sons of Italy to the German Club has a stand selling its favorite foods.

Just a short walk from the circle, the old Santa Fe Railway passenger depot has been refurbished into a steakhouse restaurant, but outside the front door, you can still catch a train -- Orange is one of the major stops on the Los Angeles-Oceanside Metrolink commuter train line. There is also service to and from Riverside. North of the circle is Chapman University, a private college growing in both student population and stature. It has recently become the home for the Cecil B. DeMille Film School and is nationally known for its annual economic conferences.

The Oldtown area features hundreds of turn-of-the-century homes, most in the 1500-square foot range. Most of the fixer-uppers have already been “fixed up,” but there are always finds to be had. The Old Towne Preservation Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to maintaining the district and there are specific rules regarding what can and cannot be changed on the older homes in the area.

Moving east of the circle, there are many 1950’s neighborhoods, still very well kept. On the East side of the 55 freeway, the gated communities of Rock Creek Ranch built in the mid-1990’s feature town homes, condos and single family homes. The areas of Orange Park Acres and Rocking Horse Ridge have horse property available with bridal trails around the area. The El Modena and Macpherson neighborhoods grew up in the 1960’s and there are many opportunities here to purchase a home to rehabilitate.

Two of Orange County’s major hospitals are in Orange – St. Joseph’s and the UCI Medical Center. There are two major regional shopping centers in Orange – the Village of Orange is anchored by Sears and Walmart, and the Block of Orange is an entertainment destination with theatres, restaurants, a bowling alley and the only Hilo Hattie Hawaiian store on the Mainland.

Orange is conveniently located on Interstate 5. The junction of "the 5" with two state highways (SR 57 "Orange Freeway" and SR 22 "Garden Grove Freeway"), commonly called the "Orange Crush," is the busiest interchange in Orange County and one of the busiest in the country. The eastern edge of Orange is served by the 241 and 261 Tollroads, two of California's first toll highways, which connect the city with the cities of Irvine and Rancho Santa Margarita.

Orange public schools are in the Orange Unified School District, with four high schools, Orange, Villa Park, El Modena, and Canyon.