The Meadows at Lake Forest: How a 50-Year-Old Family Nursery Became One of Orange County's Most Talked-About Luxury Communities
For more than half a century, drivers coming off the 241 Toll Road and heading toward Bake Parkway would have passed a sprawling wholesale nursery tucked between Lake Forest Drive and Rancho Parkway. Nakase Brothers Wholesale Nursery had been operating on that 122-acre stretch of South Orange County since the late 1960s, long before Lake Forest was even an incorporated city. Rows of container plants, hoop houses, and the particular quiet of agricultural land defined a corner of the city that many residents drove past without thinking much about it.
That chapter closed when the Nakase family sold the property to Toll Brothers for north of $100 million. What replaced it is The Meadows, a master-planned community of luxury single-family homes, a private recreation center, senior affordable apartments, and seven public parks. The last phase of homes went on sale in April 2025, starting at $2,734,000. This is the full story of how that land got here.
The Land Before The Meadows: Nakase Brothers Wholesale Nursery
The Nakase family began farming the Lake Forest property in the late 1960s, well before the surrounding area developed into the suburban city it is today. What started as a family agricultural operation evolved into Nakase Brothers Wholesale Nursery, a commercial plant business operating at 20621 Lake Forest Drive. The nursery supplied plants to retailers and landscapers throughout Southern California, and the property remained in active agricultural use through the late 1990s and into the 2000s.
This kind of agricultural history is not unusual in South Orange County. Land that was ranched or farmed through the mid-20th century has been steadily converting to residential and commercial use as the region has built out. But at 122 acres, the Nakase property represented one of the last large undeveloped infill parcels left inside an already incorporated city in South OC.
For years the land sat in a kind of transition, no longer actively farmed at full scale but not yet approved for development. Toll Brothers had its eye on it. The initial purchase agreement between Toll Brothers and the Nakase family was struck around 2015, but the deal sat while Toll Brothers spent the next several years working through the city's entitlement process.
Toll Brothers paid north of $100 million for the 125-acre property, or more than $800,000 per acre. The pricing was unchanged from the initial agreement made about five years prior.
Orange County Business Journal, September 2020
The deal finally closed in 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic was upending real estate markets nationally. The fact that the price held at $100 million-plus was itself noteworthy. Land Advisors Organization brokers Allison Rawlins Tift and Mike Hunter represented Toll Brothers in the transaction. Tift noted at the time that these were "the first sizeable COVID-19 land transactions to occur in Orange County," and that the deal's adherence to pre-pandemic pricing demonstrated the underlying strength of the OC residential land market.
At more than $800,000 per acre, and roughly $130,000 per entitled lot, the price reflected the scarcity of large-format residential land inside established South OC cities. Entitlements for 675 homes had already been secured. The project's total value, once built out, was projected by sources to reach $400 million or more.
Toll Brothers was not a stranger to Lake Forest. The company had previously partnered with Shea Homes to develop Baker Ranch, the master-planned community just to the north. That familiarity with the city's planning department and approval process likely helped move the Meadows entitlement forward.
Three Years of Entitlements: What Toll Brothers Got Approved
The entitlement process for the Meadows took roughly three years, from around 2017 through January 2020. Toll Brothers applied for a General Plan Amendment to change the land use designation of the site, a zone change to establish a new Nakase Planned Community zoning district, and an Area Plan that set the design standards and character for the master-planned community.
The city required an Environmental Impact Report, which was prepared by an independent third-party environmental planning firm and analyzed more than 24 environmental categories including air quality, geology, soils, noise, biology, and cultural resources. The EIR was certified by the Lake Forest City Council on January 21, 2020, the same night the council voted to approve the project.
What the January 2020 approval authorized:
| Component | Detail |
|---|---|
| Single-family homes | Up to 675 (541 initially approved; up to 134 additional on former school site) |
| Senior affordable apartments | Up to 101 planned; 65 built |
| Public parks | 7 parks, totaling 11.32 required acres of public open space |
| Habitat / open space | 10.4+ acres bordering Serrano Creek |
| School site | 10-acre K-6 potential school site (subsequently declined by SVUSD) |
| Private amenities | Recreation center, 2 pools, 2 spas, sports courts |
| Trail access | Parallel trail connecting to Serrano Creek regional trail system |
| Development Agreement | Executed with Toll Brothers to establish rights, obligations, and public benefits |
State law required the dedication of 11.32 acres of public open space as a condition of building up to 675 homes and 101 senior affordable units. The seven public parks and the public trail running parallel to Serrano Creek satisfy that requirement and must remain accessible to anyone, not just Meadows residents.
The School Site: How SVUSD Said No and Toll Brothers Got More Homes
One of the more interesting chapters in the Meadows story involves a 10-acre parcel that was set aside specifically for a potential elementary school. At the city's request, Toll Brothers and the Saddleback Valley Unified School District (SVUSD) executed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2019. The terms were straightforward: SVUSD would have up to four years to decide whether it wanted the school site, free from Toll Brothers and ready for construction. If the district declined, Toll Brothers would have the right to build additional homes on the parcel, up to the project's 675-home cap. And under the Development Agreement, SVUSD would receive $10 million from Toll Brothers if they chose not to build.
Toll Brothers did everything asked. It conducted four additional environmental and site studies at SVUSD's request, all of which found no concerns with the site's suitability for a California elementary school. The Environmental Impact Report had already cleared the site across every category the state requires for school construction.
On March 9, 2023, Saddleback Valley Unified notified the City and Toll Brothers that it would not pursue the new school. SVUSD accepted the $10 million payment instead. The decision freed Toll Brothers to build additional homes on the 10-acre parcel, bringing the project's total potential toward the 675-home ceiling.
The city does not have the authority to force a school district to accept a site or build a school, and no one compelled SVUSD to do either. But for the community around the Meadows, the decision is worth understanding. The school site was designed into the project and studied extensively. SVUSD weighed it and walked away with $10 million and no new school for the neighborhood.
The Community: Neighborhoods, Homes, and Amenities
The Meadows sits at the southeast corner of Bake Parkway and Rancho Parkway in Lake Forest, just south of the 241 Toll Road. Model homes opened November 2022 and the community has been selling actively since. At build-out, the project will include up to 675 single-family homes across multiple neighborhoods, a private recreation center for residents, and seven public parks open to all.
The Neighborhoods
Toll Brothers has released multiple named collections at The Meadows. The Sequoias is the final phase, announced in April 2025 with 57 remaining home sites. The Evergreens was an earlier collection. Each neighborhood is approved individually by the Planning Commission through a Site Development Permit process covering site plan, floor plans, architecture, and landscaping.
The Sequoias Collection (Final Phase)
Three home designs ranging from 3,403 to 3,559+ square feet. All homes include 5 bedrooms, 5.5 bathrooms, grand entries, and attached 2-car garages. Available options include multigenerational living suites with optional kitchenettes, floating staircases, a home office, a primary suite retreat or deck. Homes in the final phase are priced from $2,734,000, with quick move-in homes available through end of 2025. The Sales Center is at 191 Evergreen Way, Lake Forest, open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily (Wednesdays by appointment from 2 to 5 p.m.).
Amenities
| Amenity | Detail |
|---|---|
| Recreation center | Large private facility for residents |
| Pools and spas | 2 pools, 2 spas |
| Sports courts | Basketball, pickleball, volleyball |
| Parks (private) | 12 acres for residents |
| Parks (public) | 7 parks open to all, including playgrounds, open turf, shade shelters, picnic areas, BBQs |
| Open space / trails | 10+ acres with trail connecting to Serrano Creek regional trails system |
| Habitat restoration | Protected area along Serrano Creek |
Toll Brothers customers can personalize their home through the company's Design Studio, which lets buyers select finishes and options with the help of professional design consultants. The Meadows is a Toll Brothers Design Studio community.
The Senior Affordable Component: 65 Units at The Meadows
As part of the entitlement, Toll Brothers was required to include affordable senior housing within the project. The approved plan called for up to 101 senior affordable apartment units. The community ultimately includes 65 senior affordable units, serving residents 62 and older. The senior apartments are a separate building within the larger Meadows master plan.
This type of mixed-income requirement is common in large residential projects that go through a Development Agreement with a California city. The affordable component is one of the "public benefits" Toll Brothers committed to in exchange for the development rights and zoning approvals the city granted. Without the affordable units, the deal likely would not have moved through the council unanimously in January 2020.
Full Timeline: From Nursery to Near Sellout
- Late 1960s Nakase family begins operating a nursery on the 122-acre Lake Forest Drive property
- 1990s – 2010s Site operates as Nakase Brothers Wholesale Nursery; property transitions away from active farming
- ~2015 Toll Brothers and the Nakase family reach a purchase agreement for north of $100 million; deal sits while entitlements are pursued
- 2017 – 2019 Toll Brothers works through Lake Forest's 3-year entitlement process; files GPA, zone change, Area Plan, Tentative Tract Map, and Development Agreement applications
- December 23, 2019 Toll Brothers and Saddleback Valley Unified sign MOU establishing school site agreement and $10M payment option
- January 21, 2020 Lake Forest City Council unanimously approves the Meadows; EIR certified the same night
- 2020 Toll Brothers closes on the land; deal price confirmed at north of $100M ($800,000+ per acre) despite COVID-19 pandemic; Land Advisors brokers the transaction
- 2021 Planning Commission begins approving individual neighborhood Site Development Permits; rough grading permits issued
- November 8, 2022 Toll Brothers announces grand opening of 18 new model homes at The Meadows
- March 9, 2023 SVUSD formally notifies the city and Toll Brothers it will not build the school; accepts $10M payment; Toll Brothers gets rights to build additional homes on the 10-acre school parcel up to the 675-home cap
- April 3, 2025 Toll Brothers announces final opportunity at The Sequoias, the last phase of 57 home sites; prices from $2,734,000
- End of 2025 Quick move-in homes available; community approaching sellout
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The Meadows is one of the most significant new residential communities Lake Forest has seen in decades. If you are thinking about buying a home in Lake Forest or anywhere in Orange County, I would be glad to help you understand what is available and what it is worth.
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