City Park restoration moves toward construction with 95% design, $100 million estimate

City staff and design firm Rios, Inc. presented the final design update for Corona’s City Park restoration to the Parks and Recreation Commission, saying the project is about 95% complete in design and remains within the original cost estimate.

Miss Finch told commissioners the City Park master plan — adopted in July 2023 after extensive outreach — guided the current design. "We are at about the 95% mark right now," she said, adding that plan check and permitting are underway and that environmental documents are expected to conclude around April 2026. Staff said they expect to prequalify contractors and go to bid in April–May, with a City Council recommendation for bid award anticipated in July 2026 and construction starting later in 2026.

Rios architect Danny Travis described the site concept centered on a "community canvas," a large lawn intended for civic gatherings, with linked program loops that include a pump track, skate park, multiple playgrounds (separate toddler and 5–12-year-old zones), a splash pad with interactive water features, and a new community center and aquatic center. The aquatic complex will include an activity pool with shallow play elements, a 25-yard competition pool with eight full-depth lanes and additional warm-up lanes, and springboard capability (two 3-meter and two 1-meter boards). Travis said designers also provided ample shade canopies and spectator seating.

Landscape lead Robin Kim explained the tree strategy: the design identifies trees to protect in place, trees to relocate (for example, many Canary Island date palms), and trees that must be removed where new buildings or the aquatic center will sit. Kim said the design team worked with an arborist to set protection and relocation specifications.

Commissioners asked detailed technical questions during the Q&A. On planting, staff said the 90% construction documents include a plant palette that leans toward California natives and drought-tolerant species; Kim said the planting list was submitted with the 90% package. On pool dimensions, Rios confirmed the competition lanes are 25 yards (short-course) and that certain lazy-river and activity-pool zones were designed at consistent depths (staff confirmed a 3'6" depth for a described zone). On edges between the pump track and courts, Rios said designers used a grade change and fencing (a 10-foot fence on three sides of the basketball court) to limit stray balls and manage safety.

Staff also reported the project has been tracked to the original estimate: "about a $100,000,000 plus or minus 10%," Miss Finch said. She described the remaining steps: finishing environmental review (target April 2026), completing permitting and contractor prequalification, then bidding and council award. "We are really in the home stretch," she said.

The presentation included renderings of the community center layout (fitness and gym blocks, back-of-house locker rooms, a flexible banquet hall of roughly 8,000 square feet that can accommodate about 400 people and be subdivided), and circulation and parking improvements to support large events.

Next steps: staff will finish plan check and environmental documentation, finalize prequalification and bid documents, and return to City Council for a bid award recommendation expected in July 2026. The commission’s comments asked staff and the design team to continue refining the plant palette, confirm final tree protection/relocation specs with the arborist, and include simple, durable audio-visual and wayfinding systems in the building design.

Provenance: City Park design content drawn from the presentation and Q&A (topic intro SEG 939; topic finish SEG 1970).