South Park began its transition into a more natural setting this month, as construction crews broke ground on a long-planned renovation of the four-and-a-half acre park in the south part of Hermosa Beach along Valley Drive.
The construction firm is replacing the park’s decommissioned skate rink with a natural-feeling play area that will include rocks, logs, forts, a tree house and a swinging bridge. (Some of the natural elements will be made from alternative materials). A children’s community garden will also go alongside the larger community garden.
The groundbreaking was the culmination of eight years of work for Jessica Guheen, Beth Rohrer, and other local activists and parents. After years of anticipation, Rohrer said things have moved quickly this year.
“I feel like we’ve been waiting forever, then all of sudden it just kicked off,” Rohrer said. “We’re kind of in shock.”
Guheen, a commissioner on the Parks & Recreation Commission, became interested in the park since she lives nearby. Rohrer was interested in creating a park that would be accessible for children with special needs, as she has a son in a wheelchair. The mothers started on the board of Friends of the Parks, and then formed the South Park Design Committee to focus on the project.
The only problem was there was no money. The plan languished for years until Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe awarded the project a $150,000 grant in 2011. After a few years of planning, the city awarded the construction contract in March to Green Giant Landscape of La Habra. The city said it expects to spend $755,000.
Many of the park’s new design elements came from local students at View and Valley schools, who submitted ideas of a “dream park” during a planning session a couple years ago. Landscape architecture firm MIG took those ideas into consideration when drawing up the park’s new look. The kids were adamant that the park have a fort or treehouse, Rohrer said.
By forgoing metal playground equipment in favor of dirt and sand, Rohrer said kids are more likely to get creative.
“The idea is that the kids use their imaginations more,” she said.
Construction is mostly centered on the north end of the park, bordering Cypress Avenue, which was home to a roller skate rink that fell out of favor a decade ago when the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo became more popular. A dry creek will go on the hill at the west end of the park. The park’s irrigation system is also being replaced. The park’s central lawn and surrounding bike path won’t be touched by the renovation.
Rohrer said she’s staying involved even as construction has begun to make sure Green Giant executes the community’s vision of a natural-feeling setting that has trails and a treehouse that are accessible for all children.
There are still details to be worked out. For example, the city plans for the treehouse to be more-or-less a platform, while Rohrer and others are pushing for some added features such as dumbwaiters or a telescope.
The project’s supporters may need to raise funds to pay for additional rocks, benches, picnic tables and other items, she said.
Last week, a local resident raised concerns on Facebook that about 19 trees and shrubs had been torn out of the ground as part of the construction process. Rohrer said those trees were either sick or nonnative, and will be replaced by other trees and shrubs.
The city expects to have construction completed in about four months.
