Brea

Brea is where art, architecture and amenities intersect in one livable, small city with a friendly neighborhood feel. Brea beautifully blends a lively local economy, exciting shopping and dining options, top-rated schools and plenty of places to play, with opportunities galore.

The city of Brea began as a center of crude oil production, was later propelled by citrus production, and is now an important retail center because of the large Brea Mall and the recently redeveloped Brea Downtown. Brea Downtown offers something for everyone in the family, including shopping, dining, a movie theatre, comedy club and year-round street fairs and special events. Every Tuesday there is a Certified Farmer’s Market offering fresh produce, flowers, crafts and specialty items.

Brea's renowned “Art in Public Places” program epitomizes the city’s commitment to fine arts and was designed to integrate public art with private development. Beginning in 1975, developers who build new projects valued over $1.5 million are required to integrate sculpture as part of their project. All sculptures are placed at prominent locations where they can be enjoyed by the public, and the program features a wide range of mediums, styles, and approaches by local, national and internationally renowned artists. In addition, Brea is home to the Curtis Theatre, which both produces and hosts year-round live music, dance and art performances.

Six elementary schools, one middle school, one high school, and an alternative high school make up the Brea Olinda Unified School District. Six schools have been designated as California Distinguished Schools, two have been named Blue Ribbon Schools and BOUSD students have won honors in county, state, and national competition, including CIF championships, Academic Decathlon and Pentathlon Tournaments. More than 90% of Brea Olinda High School seniors are college bound from the Class of 2011.

With 15 parks and recreation facilities -- offering walking trails, pools, baseball/soccer field, fishing lakes, golf courses, rock walls, picnic areas and more -- Brea provides a wide variety of leisure and active lifestyle needs to the community. There is also the Brea Fitness Center, located inside the community center, which features a three-component approach allowing you to choose from the Gym, Cardio/Weight Room and Group Exercise Room. There’s no excuse to not staying fit in Brea!

From charming neighborhoods built in the 1920s to modern developments currently under construction, a wide array of housing opportunities is available in Brea. If quaint Victorian architecture appeals to you, it will be hard not to fall in love with the Ash Street Cottages, a charming single-family development with a 1/2-acre community park that incorporates porches and walkways to create a neighborhood feel. City Walk offers townhomes walking distance to the downtown area and more than 600 tract homes were recently completed at Olinda Ranch. Additionally, Blackstone is a brand new community currently being built that includes four distinct neighborhoods to satisfy a variety of sizes, lifestyles and budgets.