Tustin highlight
Former Marine Corps Air Station Tustin
The former Marine Corps Air Station, established in 1942 and closed in 1999, is now undergoing redevelopment as Tustin Legacy, a mixed-use community.
In 1942, the United States Navy established Naval Air Station Santa Ana on land south of Tustin to support World War II coastal defense operations. The base featured two massive wooden blimp hangars built to house military airships used for anti-submarine patrols along the California coast. These hangars are among the largest wooden structures ever built and are now recognized as National Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks. The facility later became a Marine Corps helicopter station and was renamed Marine Corps Air Station Tustin in 1979.
At its peak in the early 1990s, MCAS Tustin was home to approximately 4,500 military residents and employed nearly 5,000 military personnel and civilians, making it a major center for Marine Corps helicopter aviation on the Pacific Coast. The base operated for nearly six decades until its closure in 1999, after which the 1,294-acre site was returned to the city for civilian redevelopment. Today, the land is being transformed into Tustin Legacy, a mixed-use community featuring residential areas, commercial spaces, recreational facilities, and the Orange County Sheriff's Department academy.
Major life transitions often follow significant changes in a community's character. Tustin's transformation from military base to civilian neighborhood means residents and their families are making decisions about housing, schools, and long-term security during a period of growth and new opportunity. These moments—moving to a newly developing area, raising children in an expanding community, or investing in a changing neighborhood—are exactly when families typically reassess their insurance needs and lock in the rates that will protect those decisions.