Former industrial site to become pocket park in South L.A.

The City of L.A's 50 Parks Initiative, launched one decade ago, continues to bear fruit.

At its next meeting on June 16, the Los Angeles Board of Recreation and Parks Commissioners is expected to sign off on plans for a new public park on a former industrial site in the Central-Alameda neighborhood of South Los Angeles. The proposed Nevin Avenue Park would rise on a quarter-acre property 1527-1531 E 32nd Street, which is wrapped on its eastern, northern, and western sides by the Nevin Avenue Elementary School campus.

The new park, which would serve nearly 6,300 people living within a half-mile radius, was used by the Renu Plating Company from 1955 and 1984, resulting in contaminants in soil and wastewater including alkalines, base metals, and cyanide. Redevelopment of the site as green space will require removal and replacement of the top two feet of soil across the property, as stipulated by a remediation plan approved by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control.

The new green space, which would be built under two alternative design schemes, is slated to include a new entry plaza, a picnic area, a children's playground, fitness equipment, a plant garden, walking trails, and an outdoor learning space. Additionally, 29 new shade trees are proposed, including Red Oaks, Jacaranda, Palo Verde, and California Bay Trees.

The total cost of the Nevin Avenue Park, including land acquisition, totals roughly $2.78 million. Construction is currently expected to begin in Summer 2023, per a staff report to the Recreation and Parks Commissioners.

The project site sits just a few blocks north from another vacant, former industrial lot at the intersection of 41st Street and Compton Avenue, where developer Thomas Safran & Associates is slated to build Parkview, a 127-unit affordable housing complex.

Nevin Avenue Park is one of 53 sites earmarked for redevelopment with open space under the 50 Parks Initiative, following other green spaces that have already been completed such as Spring Street Park and Vermont Miracle Park.

• Central-Alameda (Urbanize LA)