new 14-acre downtown park taking shape
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Located on the edge of Downtown at 1st Street and Toluca Street in City West, Vista Hermosa Park will soon create badly needed open space in the center of the city. The public park comes as phase two of the problem-plagued Vista Hermosa High School complex where environmental issues have delayed construction and sky-rocketed building costs over the last several years. Work began in late 2006 on the park component with a budget of $197 million and completion is expected within the next few months.
Due to its location on a hillside over a series of split levels, the recreation center is designed to create a “mountain watershed experience” and should offer sweeping views of the Downtown skyline. Planned amenities include restrooms, a pond, soccer fields, picnic areas, an amphitheater and themed children’s play area. Field lights are already in place for the soccer area and rows of rustic stone retaining walls meander across the vast site.
Once complete the 14-acre Vista Hermosa Park will one of Downtown’s largest, second only in size to the 32-acre Cornfield Park north of Chinatown.
2 comments
I’ve been following this too. I’m a Marshall High alum, so a person like me was raised to hate anything Belmont but I think it’s very sad that the original Belmont High School bore the brunt of the stigma that was caused by Vista Hermosa’s original name, especially since it had nothing to do with the debacle. So the name change was a step in the right direction. Can’t wait to see the downtown views from the park!
For the half-billion dollars our inept school administration has dumped on this project, patrons of the district are entitled to a well-kept, safe and accessible park and school grounds. I hope that is what results, not a battle ground littered with broken glass and plastic bags.