MAYOR VILLARAIGOSA, COUNCILWOMAN HAHN JOIN PORT OFFICIALS AND HARBOR COMMUNITY TO CELEBRATE OPENING OF SAN PEDRO’S NEW 16-ACRE PARK

SAN PEDRO, Calif. — January 9, 2010 — Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Councilwoman Janice Hahn, Harbor Commissioners and San Pedro locals today officially opened a 16-acre park on the site of a former tank farm in San Pedro across from 22nd Street Landing at the Port of Los Angeles.  The first new park to be built in green-space challenged San Pedro in years, 22nd Street Park is part of the Port’s efforts to redevelop waterfront properties for the benefit of the community. It offers walking and biking trails, shade trees, a bocce ball court, restrooms, ample parking and more than four-acres of flat grassy area for recreation, all with a water view.

“What a terrific day to open this beautiful park,” said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. “Today the community reclaims this scenic piece of land for the enjoyment of local residents and visitors.  This park is yet another example that the Port is on the right track to balancing its business needs with the community’s needs.”

"We have transformed what was once a vacant, blighted property into a beautiful open space for people from all over the region to use and enjoy,” said Los Angeles Councilwoman Janice Hahn.  “This is a great step forward in the revitalization of our San Pedro waterfront."
 
The grand opening celebration had an old-fashioned picnic theme and included a 50-foot inflatable obstacle course, Frisbee toss, sack races, hula-hoop contest, beach ball skills obstacle course, foot-sack skills area, face painting and a free hot dog lunch cooked up by the Los Angeles Fire Department Historical Society. Nearly 1,000 people attended the celebration.

“This park has something for everyone – open space for vigorous activities, paths for strolling or jogging, paths for bike riding along its perimeter and even places to just sit and read a little about the history of the land.  It’s an invitation to spend time at the water’s edge in the Port,” said Jerilyn López Mendoza, Harbor Commission Vice President.

The new park, bounded by 22nd Street, Crescent Avenue and Miner Street in San Pedro, has been newly planted with 500 trees, 1,700 shrubs and 4 ½ acres of sod.  The park includes a sloped area near Crescent Avenue and 22nd Street which had previously included native and non-native/invasive plants and a freshwater marsh.  The Port took great care to remove the invasive species while preserving and enhancing the marsh and native plants in creating the new park.  In addition, a pedestrian path was created from the elevated Crescent Avenue area down into the park flatlands to provide an up-close view of this native habitat.

In addition to the native and drought-resistant plants, other environmental features of the park include use of recycled water for landscaping maintenance (“purple pipe”) and bioswales for stormwater management.

The included elements and design of the park are the result of local community input from public meetings and a design workshop.  Construction of the park began in June 2006 and was completed at a total cost of $10.5 million.  The park was designed by Kammeyer & Associates of Corona, Calif. and constructed by Griffith Company of Santa Fe Springs.

The park will be enjoyed by the community on a first-come, first-served basis as state tidelands trust rules forbid the ongoing organized, single-activity recreational use of Port land. Those wishing to use the park for an organized purpose must apply to and be given permission by the Port’s Real Estate Division.

22nd Street Park Facts

Size

-Approximately 18 acres
-4.5 acres of which is flat, grassy area
-12 acres open meadow
-1.6 acres of parking (175 spaces)

Amenities

-Flat grassy area for active recreation
-Walking paths with upland connections
-Meadow area
-Bike path/trails along its north and south perimeters
-Two bocce ball courts
-Benches and lighting
-Wayfinding signage to other waterfront locations -Educational signage on the history of the area
-Restrooms

Plants

-500 Trees, including: Coobah Willow Acacia, Flooded Gum, Australian Tea Tree, New Zealand Christmas Tree and lilac Melaleuca
-1,700 shrubs, including: Brewer Saltbush, Bull Clover, California Sealavender, Yellowray Goldfields and Carpet Acacia

Environmental Features

-Use of recycled water for landscaping maintenance (“purple pipe”)
-Bioswales used for stormwater management
-Use of drought tolerant plants
-Brownfield site was redeveloped into a public open space with water views

History

The new 22nd Street Park sits on the former Union Oil Company tank farm. The area had several very large, round storage tanks used for holding oil. Union Oil Company began in the 1920s and is one of the first and longest operating oil refiners and shippers at the Port of Los Angeles. The tank farm operated from 1958 to 1988. The site was remediated and closed in 1994. When the Port decided to create a park on this property as part of its waterfront enhancements program, numerous public workshops and meetings were held. A final project design emerged from the June 2006 Community Design Workshop. Construction of the Park began in 2008 and was completed in late 2009.

Designer

Kammeyer & Associates
Corona, CA