A groundbreaking for Orange County’s first veterans cemetery is closer than ever after state legislators and Governor Gavin Newsom signed off on over $19 million worth of construction as part of their new budget.
It’s the first step of construction in the project that now has over $78 million set aside in the bank by federal, state and county leaders after a series of studies and a decade of debate over where the cemetery should go.
[Read: How Did Irvine Fail to Build a Veterans Cemetery After Nearly a Decade of Debate?]
While veterans groups and OC legislators have worked to gather funds for the project over several state budget battles, construction has yet to begin.
Over 100 veterans and their supporters packed into the Anaheim City Council Chambers on Nov. 21 2025, with dozens more turned away at the door. Credit: NORBERTO SANTANA JR., Voice of OC
After local and state leaders agreed to ditch plans to build the cemetery in Irvine, they agreed to move forward on a chunk of land off of the 91 freeway in Anaheim’s Gypsum Canyon right next to a planned county cemetery so they could share some construction costs.
State leaders have completed a study of the site, saying it’ll cost about $86 million to build over the next few decades, a much cheaper price tag that they originally anticipated would surpass $120 million.
Read: Santana: State VA Greenlights Orange County Vet Cemetery at Gypsum Canyon
The future lot for the veterans cemetery in the Gypsum Canyon Wilderness Park on Sunday, May 18, 2025. Credit: MAXIMO SANTANA, Voice of OC
Now, state leaders have authorized direct spending of $10 million they set aside in previous budgets to begin construction on the actual cemetery, along with providing another $9 million in new money they greenlit this month to pay for new infrastructure at the site including roads along with power and water hookups.
The new funding was announced by Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva, who’s wrapping up her last few months at the statehouse and has been a leader of the project since talks about it began around 2012.
“For years, veterans and military families in our region have fought to see this project move forward,” Quirk-Silva said in a Tuesday statement. “This budget delivers meaningful progress toward honoring that commitment while continuing to invest in housing, public services, and the supports Californians rely on every day.”
Nick Berardino, president of the Veterans Alliance of Orange County, praised the work of the county, state and federal leaders who helped make the project happen in a Wednesday interview.
The new funding means major construction will start soon, focusing initially on moving utility lines onto the site along with building a main access road, Berardino added.
“This is a major victory for the veteran community that took twelve years of battle,” Berardino said. “But we have taken the hill with the help of a bipartisan elected official coalition which stands as a sterling example for our 250th anniversary.”
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