The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has voted to fund construction of the first phase of a new master plan for Willowbrook's Earvin "Magic" Johnson Park, according to an announcement by 2nd District Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.
The first phase of the project, budgeted at approximately $50-million, will create a 20,000-square-foot community events center, as well as an outdoor pavilion, a splash pad, a children's play area, new walking paths, and parking lots. The project also addresses water conservation and water quality goals by diverting water from nearby Compton Creek to fill a man-made lake and irrigate 30 acres of the park to create a wetland experience.
Construction of this first phase is expected to begin in October and be completed by Spring 2020.
A full buildout of the park's master plan - which covers the entire 120 acres of the park - is expected to occur over 18 years. The approximately $135-million master plan was designed by landscape architecture firm AHBE.
The new master plan will expand the park onto the site of a former housing development fronting 126th Street. The entire site previously operated as an oil storage facility between the 1920s and 1960s, and has undergone substantial soil remediation as a result.
