Fresh mulch, planted trees, benches and even a windmill in place at City West’s new Vista Hermosa Park say the sprawling hillside greenspace is ready to start welcoming nature-loving Downtowners; but piles of gravel, grading equipment and bare dirt slopes affirm there’s more left to be done.

Originally, the park component of the Vista Hermosa complex was to run on a separate construction schedule from the school, but as progress continues to linger, the two halves may come online around the same time. On September 3, the notorious Central Los Angeles High School #11 — formally known as Edward R. Roybal Learning Center — will be opening its educational facilities after years of pricey delays and setbacks.

Come this fall, the intersection of 1st and Beaudry will graduate from perpetual construction zone to active pedestrian zone, bringing in teenage students, dog walkers, picnickers and families with small children to an area of Downtown few currently visit on foot. Once Canvas LA’s new retail strip leases up across the street, add shoppers to that list.

-protestors disrupt vista hermosa park ceremony
-canvas la brushes color on city west
-new 14-acre downtown park taking shape

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