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Gardena receives New Park Designs report, outlines three candidate sites and planning‑level cost estimates
Summary
KTUA presented the Gardena New Park Designs report suggesting concepts and planning-level cost estimates for Rosecrans Avenue, Thornburg Park, and a Vermont Avenue linear park; council voted to receive and file the report.
KTUA project manager Jacob Leon presented the Gardena New Park Designs report on March 11, describing a community-driven process that narrowed a list of vacant and underutilized parcels to three priority sites and produced conceptual designs and planning-level cost estimates.
The report recommends three concepts: a Rosecrans Avenue site with a two-story, 23,000-square-foot multigenerational community center, rooftop garden and dog run (planning-level cost estimate $22,808,500); a Thornburg Park expansion including an all-abilities playground, dog run, upgraded ball fields and a 2,500-square-foot multipurpose building (estimate $9,884,100); and a Vermont Avenue linear park featuring a 10-foot-wide multiuse trail, landscaping, lighting and activity nodes (estimate $7,149,000).
Leon said the project included more than a dozen engagement events and social-media outreach; the team used a GIS-based tool to identify candidate parcels and refined designs through workshops, pop-ups and surveys. “We were busy with this community-driven process,” Leon said, noting the design work builds on Gardena’s 2024 Parks and Recreation Master Plan.
Council members asked staff and the consultant detailed questions about parking at the Rosecrans site, parking philosophy for neighborhood parks, potential impacts to adjacent parcels, and next steps for project sequencing. KTUA and staff said parking is constrained at the Rosecrans site and that underground parking would be costly; Thornburg’s concept keeps and upgrades the existing ball field while adding a walking loop and accessibility improvements. The Vermont linear park concept will require coordination with Union Pacific for setback and fence conditions.
The council voted unanimously to receive and file the report; staff said the document will help the city pursue grant funding and make the city eligible for certain measure funding programs. There is no financial impact from receiving and filing the report; any construction would be subject to future budgeting and further design phases.
