Del Lago Park-Grand Opening Saturday, August 29, 2009!

A FIRST and a LAST…Del Lago Park Grand Opening!

TULARE – Area residents will get their First look at the much-anticipated Del Lago Park at a Grand Opening celebration on August 29 co-hosted by the City of Tulare and McMillin Homes. McMillin Homes built the park and much of the nearby master planned community of Del Lago. 

“The partnership we had with McMillin Homes was fantastic,” said Tulare Mayor Craig Vejvoda. “The park was finished on time, under budget, and it’s really a gem for our community. In fact, with so many amenities, it will be a regional draw.”

The August 29 celebration will unveil the 15.1-acre second phase of Del Lago Park, which includes a 1.6-acre lake that has been stocked with black large-mouth bass, blue gill and catfish. It also boasts two tennis courts, picnic and play areas, play structures and ‘splash zones’ for kids, walking and jogging paths, and over 500 trees. Another 15-acre section of the park, which opened in 2007, includes sports fields, jogging paths and open space adjacent to the new Mission Valley Elementary School, which uses the park for sports and recreation during the school year.

“We can’t wait to get the park open,” said Milt Stowe, Tulare Director of Parks and Recreation. “Thanks to McMillin and landscape contractor Rolando Martinez, everything has gone great and Del Lago Park is something the city of Tulare can be very proud of and will be able to enjoy for a long, long time.”

The Grand Opening Celebration begins at 7:30 a.m. with a fishing derby for kids ages 15 and under in the 1.5-acre lake at the southern end of the park. The derby costs $1 per child and participants are asked to pre-register at the Parks and Recreation office and to bring their own fishing gear and live bait (no lures).

At 10 a.m. the park will be officially opened with a dedication ceremony at the southern arbor, near the lake, and the city will present a plaque to the Corky McMillin Companies thanking them for the hard work designing and building the park. Invited dignitaries include Mayor Vejvoda; Stowe;  Fred Lagomarsino, who donated the land for the park to the city; Craig Hancock, chairman of the Tulare Parks and Recreation Commission; and Jim Robinson, Senior Vice President of Acquisitions and Development for McMillin Homes; Rolando Martinez, the landscape contractor; and Darrel Pyle, city manager of Tulare. Refreshments will be served after the ceremony, provided by McMillin Homes.

“This park is a jewel in our city, and it’s going to serve so many people in the area,” said Craig Hancock, chairman of the Tulare Parks and Recreation Commission. “And McMillin Homes has been fantastic, providing so much help and expertise.”

“We had always wanted to be a partner in the building of the park because we built most of the homes in the nearby community,” said Rich Freeman, vice president of site development for McMillin Homes. “We came up with an agreement that provided the city with big savings and provided McMillin Homes the opportunity to be involved in the design and construction.”

McMillin worked closely with both the city to design and build the park, following a vision laid down by 4^th generation Tulare-area farmer and real estate developer Fred Lagomarsino, who donated the land for the park to the city.

From the beginning, Lagomarsino was adamant that the entire Del Lago development project would be built around one central theme – community – and would include both a neighborhood school and a park. “We are very committed to Tulare, so we wanted it to be done right, with planning and foresight,” said Lagomarsino.

The result is a 600-acre master planned community with an acclaimed new school, some of the most elegant new home neighborhoods in all of Tulare, and a 30-acre park complex that many are calling the best in the region.

“Between Tulare, Hanford and Visalia, McMillin Homes has built five different parks, and this one is by far the most extensive and offers the greatest variety of facilities and recreational opportunities,” said Freeman. “It’s really a neat park.”

Thanks in part to the new park and elementary school, the master planned community of Del Lago in northeastern Tulare has become one of the most desirable addresses in the city, and the new homes there are quickly selling out. In fact, the FIRST chance to play at Del Lago Park may be the LAST chance to buy a new home at San Rio and Bella Vista, the only two McMillin Homes’ neighborhoods at Del Lago that are still available.

San Rio at Del Lago offers three spacious floor plans with 3 to 4 bedrooms and 1,417 to 1,846 square feet of luxurious living space with prices starting in the high $100,000s. Located just blocks away from Tulare's popular Outlet Mall and Movie theatre complex, it’s also convenient to both park and school.

Just blocks from the new park, Bella Vista at Del Lago is home to some of McMillin’s most extraordinary floor plans, offering 3 to 5 bedrooms, spacious gourmet kitchens and luxurious master suites in 2,118 to 3,140 square feet designed to grow with today’s family, starting in the mid $200,000s.

To learn more about San Rio and Bella Vista visit www.McMillinHomes.com or come tour the model homes, which are open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday and Monday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; or call 559-685-2432 for more information on Bella Vista, or 559-687-0368 for more information on San Rio.