Amanda and Ryan Huntsman spent a year looking for their home in The Port Streets.

“My husband was in his club’s locker room and overheard someone talking about selling his house,” Amanda says. “He came home and said: ‘I’ve found our new house!’”

That was six years ago, and the wait was more than worth it. The Port Streets, aka Harbor View Homes, is an especially coveted Newport Beach neighborhood for many reasons, but maybe the most important is the strength of community. Everyone seems to know their neighbors; kids hang out at each other’s homes; parents carpool children to after-school events; and the community gathers for Halloween costume parties and the Fourth of July carnival.

That interconnectedness is by design. Much of Newport Beach was master planned decades ago by Irvine Company, focusing on beauty, convenience and community connection. Kids can walk to Roy O. Andersen Elementary School without having to cross a street, even as commuters can easily reach I-405 and the 73 toll road. Meandering wooded trails running through the neighborhood lead to parks, tot lots, sports fields, community pools and clubhouses.

“When my mother visits, she says it’s like going back to the 1950s,” says Amanda, a real estate agent with the Corey Anthony Group, who also contributes to Newport Beach Living Magazine. “Any time of day, you can walk around the greenbelt and see people playing with their dogs or joining a pickup basketball game.”

Another unifying feature of Irvine Company communities that is epitomized in The Port Streets is proximity to nature, afforded by parks and open space. Marianne Litvak, a mother of two and chief financial officer at her husband’s law firm, says the view from her bedroom window is “like waking up in a beautiful forest.” Just down the street, there’s access to a paved trail that loops through Harbor View Nature Park. Bonita Canyon Sports Park is on the opposite edge of the community, while Buffalo Hills Park is the greenbelt that runs through its center.

Litvak describes The Port Streets as a “fantastic family neighborhood.” Corona del Mar State Beach is a mile or so away, but the neighborhood is shielded from coastal traffic, thanks in part to the layout of loop roads (the port streets themselves) that are connected by Newport Hills Road. The neighborhood is a 15-minute walk from Newport Center and Fashion Island, with its inviting boutiques, restaurants and open-air paseos.

All of this helps explain why the area has been in such high demand since it opened in 1968 with an average home price of $31,000. Developed by Irvine Company and the Donald L. Bren Company, the original design encompassed 1,043 one- and two-story homes in a range of architectural styles, including Cape Cod and Mediterranean designs. Many homes have since been remodeled and expanded, while the community amenities remain as appealing as ever.

According to a UC Irvine Case Study by John Martin, Mr. Bren was closely involved in every detail of the community, from floor plans to marketing. Architect Barry Berkus, landscape architect Cortland Paul and interior designer Virginia Douglas contributed creative talent.

Litvak and her husband, Uri, moved to The Port Streets from Newport Coast nearly four years ago. While Uri liked the view from the coast, Marianne and their daughter craved the neighborliness of what became their new community. All of them were glad to move into a larger home, where the family has created a resort-like backyard, with a swimming pool, hot tub, barbecue and dining area.

The Litvaks’ daughter recently graduated from high school and is bound for college in New York, while their son graduated from business school in Indiana. Technically, their nest is empty, but they don’t expect it to stay that way for long. They’ve created a family oasis, a place where children will long to return, again and again, through the years.

Says Amanda: “Our son is already telling us not to sell the house, because he wants to raise his kids there.”