Brea is a beautiful city in the foothills of the northern tip of Orange County, California. Brea is in the Los Angeles metro area, yet it enjoys the natural beauty of several regional and neighborhood parks. Brea is popular for its regional shopping district with a variety of restaurants and entertainment opportunities. Brea public schools consistently score above the 90th percentile in state and national achievement tests. The city of Brea is proud of its Art in Public Places program, which now includes over 140 sculptures, all in public view throughout the City of 39,584 residents. This is a thriving city with excellent employment, recreation and education opportunities. In 2005 Sunset Magazine recognized Brea as the nation’s best city to live in.
Location
Brea is located in Southern California in Orange County. Orange County includes a coastal plain and the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. Brea is located in the Northeastern portion of Orange County.
Brea is 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles and San Diego is 102 miles to the south. Visiting Brea is easy because Orange County Airport is 17 miles away, Ontario Airport 25 miles away, and Los Angeles International Airport is 48 miles from Brea. An Amtrak station and a municipal airport are located in the neighboring city of Fullerton, approximately 5 miles away.
Geography
Nestled in rolling foothills on a plateau, Brea offers convenient access to Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, and to a number of beaches, parks, and tourist attractions. The city shares a border with a significant natural wildlife corridor that provides a rare scenic break within the area’s urban landscape. Brea has a total area of 10.6 square miles. The Orange freeway (57) bisects the City from north to south and offers easy access to the Riverside freeway (91) to the south and the Pomona (60) and San Bernardino (10) freeways to the north.
Jobs
A robust commercial and industrial sector offers a variety of employment opportunities in Brea. Brea is a regional retail hub offering every conceivable type of goods and services. The city’s diverse business sector includes manufacturing centers, service industries, retail and distribution outlets, and professional corporations.
In addition to hosting The Brea Mall, which is one of the nation’s busiest retail centers and attracts thousands of visitors each day, Brea is also home to many major corporations such as Beckman Coulter, Inc., Jones Lang LaSalle, Mercury Insurance Group, American Funds Service Company, Bank of America and Albertson’s Distribution Warehouse.
Brea’s average household income is well above the nation’s average. Education levels are also high in Brea, with 21% of the adult population achieving Bachelor’s Degrees and 10% with Graduate or Professional Degrees.
The city’s strong tax base from its successful retail centers allow Brea citizens to enjoy public services at a level rarely found in a community of roughly 40,000 people.
Housing
Brea enjoys a nice variety of housing types, from historic neighborhoods dating back to the 1920s to modern single-family subdivisions, planned communities, town homes, condominiums, and five mobile home parks. Sales of existing homes start around $450,000.
There are also several lovely housing and community options for senior citizens, including Brea Woods, Breal, Rebecca’s Senior Apartments, Heritage Plaza, Vintage Canyon, Orange Villa and Cypress Gardens at Brea.
Recreation
There are three regional parks located in or adjacent to Brea, plus the city maintains 12 parks and recreation facilities within its boundaries providing variety for the community’s leisure needs.
Residents enjoy living alongside neighborhood parks and playing fields, and a community swimming pool. The city’s Community Services Department offers organized sports activities, excursions, classes and other recreational opportunities for all age groups. Brea is proud of its very large and very popular Community Center, which provides a fitness complex, youth activities, Family Resource Center, and meeting and banquet rooms. Additionally, the Brea Senior Center provides activities, meals, and a gathering place for the City’s older (and wiser) residents. City Hall Park, located on Brea Boulevard, includes the historic community plunge (an Olympic-sized swimming pool) and hosts summer Concerts in the Park series, as well as the annual July 4 Country Fair.
Brea’s Carbon Canyon Regional Park is situated among the rolling foothills of the Chino Hill Range. A highlight of the park is a 10-acre grove of coastal Redwoods. A nature trail, a paved biking trail, and an equestrian trail are excellent ways to take in the pepper trees, sycamores, eucalyptus and Canary Island Pines that abound in the park. Picnic areas with barbeques are also provided. This is also popular park for family fun because it has five “tot lots” where children can safely play and explore the outdoors. A beautiful 4-acre lake and two fishing piers round out the opportunities for outdoor recreation at the Carbon Canyon Regional Park.
There are two public golf courses in the Brea. The Birch Hills Golf Course was voted the #1 executive golf course in Orange County. Birch Hills is conveniently located off highway 57, and is easily accessible from anywhere in Orange County. It is a lovely par 59 course lined with mature trees and scenic holes. The Brea Municipal Golf Course has a fully stocked pro-shop, cart rentals and a driving range. This is a great 9-hole course.
Brea also has a terrific skate park that is a popular place for youngsters to have fun. The Brea Skate Park has a combination of "street" and "freestyle" features with a fun box, pyramid, table-top, half pipe, spine, grinding rails, and drop ins. Advanced skateboarders and beginners will find something to their liking and skill level.
Special Attractions/Events
Destination shopping and restaurants attract many to Brea. The Brea Mall, conveniently located just off the 57 freeway, has five-major department stores including Nordstrom, Macy’s, Robinson-May, Sears and JC Penney, with over 175 specialty stores and restaurants and the fantastic Glen Ivy Day Spa.
Brea is also very proud of its bustling downtown popularly known as “Birch Street,” with over 50 acres of shopping and entertainment. This pedestrian-friendly promenade features Taps Fish House & Brewery, Old Navy, Tower Books & Music, Market City Café, Pan e Vino Trattoria, the Improv Comedy Club and Edwards Stadium Cinema Complex, to just name a few of the attractions.
The Brea Marketplace, Brea Gateway Shopping Center, Union Plaza and East Imperial Center offer locals more options for specialty retail products and services. Residents are easily able to “Shop Brea” and keep their tax dollars working in their own community. Brea Boulevard and Imperial Highway, both retail corridors, host a number of smaller neighborhood shopping centers.
SummerFest is the largest community event in Brea. Annually, the festival draws over 30,000 people to spectacular rides, delicious local foods, and great live entertainment. Summerfest serves as a fundraiser for Saint Angela Merici School in Brea. The event includes free concerts, a climbing wall for kids, a lip-syncing contest for parents and kids and a circus.
Interesting Facts/Historic Buildings and Places
Oil was discovered here in 1898, and many entrepreneurs came seeking the “black gold” in hopes of making their fortunes. The Village of Olinda was founded in present-day Carbon Canyon at the beginning of the 19th century. In 1908 the Village of Randolph was founded just south of Brea Canyon for the oil workers and their families. The Villages of Olinda and Randolph grew and merged as the economy boomed, and on January 19, 1911, the town's map was filed under the new name of Brea.
As oil production declined in the late 1940s, some agricultural development took place, especially lemon and orange groves, which were gradually supplanted by industrial parks and residential development. Industrial parks and retail areas thrived in Brea during the 1970s and 80s, as more and more companies took advantage of the city's strategic location in the center of Southern California. In the 1990’s downtown Brea was redeveloped to become a magnet retail area. It has been successful, and each day 100,000 people come to Brea for shopping, dining and entertainment.
Today, Brea is planning a new sports park and school on the northeastern side of town. Additional hillside housing is expected in land north of Lambert Road where the County of Orange and property owners there are coordinating with the city for utility and emergency services and eventual annexation.
Brea maintains a focus on revitalizing existing properties. Development concepts honor the preservation of historic resources while encouraging more efficient infrastructure and improved buildings to handle the expanding population. Exciting in-fill projects will continue to be an important dynamic of economic development for the city.
The City of Brea is committed to responsible growth, which includes protection of nearby open space. Brea’s work with nearby communities has attracted national interest from parks and environmental organizations that recognize the significance of its setting. Choosing to leave nearby hillsides undeveloped may well represent the best legacy for the future in terms of scenic beauty, recreation, wildlife habitat and a clean environment. Brea’s local government and citizens recognize the natural beauty of their immediate surroundings as a cornerstone of a high quality of life for future generations.
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