Council allocates $3 million to help complete Harbor 8 Park with Pogo Park partnership

The Richmond City Council voted unanimously to allocate $3 million in the FY25‑26 budget envelope to help complete Harbor 8 Park and Harbor Hall, a major community‑led park project being developed in partnership with nonprofit Pogo Park.

Pogo Park Executive Director Toody Marr told the council the Harbor 8 project has secured roughly $22 million toward a $28 million development cost, and the requested $3 million city allocation would help close the remaining financing gap and leverage additional philanthropic pledges to complete the park and a community resource/resilience center. Marr said Pogo Park has raised private funds and grant dollars over 18 years and that the Harbor 8 project is “a force multiplier” linking the Richmond Greenway, Safe Routes to School work, and other capital projects.

Councilmember Claudia Jimenez and Vice Mayor Cesar Cepeda cosponsored the request. The council appended conditions before the commitment: the city’s funding would be contingent on a formal memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the City of Richmond and Pogo Park, submission of the project’s original and revised budgets with line‑item detail (including all change orders), resolution of the kitchen scope and identification of its funding source, confirmation that grant deadlines can still be met, and a formal meeting between city staff and the Pogo Park board to align roles and responsibilities. The staff report also noted that city staff and consultants have worked with Pogo Park to validate the request.

Councilmembers asked for clarity on how the $3 million would be funded from the city CIP; staff said 1 option would be to reallocate funds proposed for three HVAC upgrades in other facilities that are under review as part of a city facilities needs assessment. Several councilmembers asked staff to provide a version of the city budget showing what would change if the $3 million were allocated to Harbor 8 so council could see tradeoffs before finalizing the FY25‑26 adoption.

Pogo Park representatives described Harbor Hall (a roughly 3,500‑square‑foot community space) and the park’s amenities — a playfield, a play hill, a community kitchen scope under discussion and the park’s landscaping and specimen trees — and said they intend the site to serve as a resilience hub for the neighborhood. Multiple community speakers, neighborhood leaders and Pogo Park staff urged the council to fund the project as a city investment in historically underserved neighborhoods.

The motion to allocate $3 million, with the listed contingencies and a requirement that funds could be reallocated if conditions are unmet by October 30, 2025, passed on unanimous roll call.