Here's the design for the new park at 5800 S Figueroa Street

A staff report to the Board of Recreation and Parks Commissioners unveils plans for Senator Bill Greene Memorial Park, a new open space planned for a vacant LADWP-owned property in South Los Angeles.

The half-acre park, which would be located at 5800 S. Figueroa Street in the Vermont-Slauson neighborhood, would repurpose the former site of LADWP's Figueroa Pump Station, which was razed in 1959. While other smaller buildings remained on the property shortly afterward, the land has been vacant for more than 60 years.

Plans to reactivate the empty lot as a park kicked off in 2021, with an environmental study setting the stage for city officials to conduct soil remediation on the site starting in Winter 2022. Subsequently, LADWP, the Department of Recreation and Parks, and 9th District City Councilmember Curren Price on a community outreach process to solicit community outreach for the new park space.

That process also yielded the project's name, Senator Bill Greene Memorial Park, which honors the late state legislator and civil rights activist who represented South Los Angeles in Sacramento for a quarter century.

Architectural plans included with the staff report depict the new park as consisting largely of concrete pavers and decomposed granite, as well as benches, public restrooms, outdoor fitness equipment, seating, landscaping, and educational signage relating to water conservation, stormwater capture, and native plants.

LADWP has agreed to foot the $3.6 million bill for the project, citing educational benefits serving the interests of the agency. That amount is sufficient to cover the total cost of the project, per the staff report, which clears the way for construction to begin in Spring 2024.

Construction of the new park will overlap with ongoing work on Metro's Rail to Rail trail, which is now taking shape along Slauson Avenue. The 5.5-mile active transportation corridor will run between Inglewood to the west and Florence-Firestone to the east.

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• Vacant LADWP property in South L.A. slated for new park (Urbanize LA)