Final design chosen for three-acre park next to the Pacoima Spreading Grounds

A community outreach process has already yielded a final concept design, but the team behind the proposed Pacoima Headworks Natural Park in the northeast San Fernando Valley is still looking for feedback.

Officials with the Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority are still circulating a survey for the project, which is planned for a roughly three-acre site at the intersection of Paxton Street and Arleta Avenue - just south of the interchange of the SR-118 and I-5 freeways, and just northeast of the Pacoima Spreading Grounds. Options still on the table include the type of fitness equipment and paving materials, the amount of garden plots and seating, and the amount of trees and signage.

The project site, owned by the Los Angeles County Flood Control District, is currently used to divert water from the adjacent Pacoima Wash into the spreading grounds, where stormwater runoff is used to recharge the San Fernando Groundwater Basin. While the property is currently not publicly accessible, MRCA is working with the City and County of Los Angeles on plans to redevelop the land as park space.

Plans show the park with new trails, shade trees, landscaping, gathering areas, stormwater capture elements, fitness equipment, picnic areas, and a surface parking lot. Studio-MLA, which  previously worked on Vista Hermosa Natural Park near Downtown Los Angeles, is designing the project.

Although a precise timeline for the Headworks park has not been stated, work could commence after completion of an ongoing project to enlarge the neighboring spreading grounds. Work on that project is set to conclude in mid-2024.

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