The City of Long Beach is taking more steps toward transforming the industrial portions of Willow Springs Park into public open space, according to a new environmental notice.

Located at 2745 Orange Avenue, the Willow Springs property spans approximately 48 acres, making it the largest open space in Central Long Beach. However, just 16 acres of the property is currently used as green space, the remainder developed with legacy industrial uses.

Long Beach Watchdog reported last year that plans for a large park at the Willow Springs site date to the late 19th century, when an artesian spring was discovered on the property. However, the subsequent discovery of oil in the 1920s resulted in much of the property instead being used for drilling - a use which persists until this day at several sites within the park.

A small portion of the original vision came to life nearly one century later with the debut of an 11-acre wetlands park space, eventually leading to the current 16 acres which have been restored. Last year, the city moved to permanently designate the site as open space, potentially setting the table for a more comprehensive restoration.

According to the environmental notice, the restoration is to be led by the Conservation Corps of Long Beach, would gradually transform the 32 acres of unrestored land within the Willow Springs property using Proposition 68 funds. Plans call for removing invasive plants and replacing them with native species, with 850 feet of irrigation line to be provided to help establish growth. Plans also call for the creation of 700 feet of pedestrian trail within the park space along a former dirt road.

Follow us on social media: 

Twitter / Facebook / LinkedIn / Threads / Instagram / Bluesky