Five months after the project's groundbreaking, the brush is clear below the Sixth Street Viaduct, but the 12 acres of new park space which began construction in August remains far from completion.

Aerial view looking west from Boyle HeightsHunter Kerhart Architectural Photography

The $82-million Sixth Street Park, Arts, and River Connectivity project - or "PARC" - will be split into seven acres of new park space on the east bank of the Los Angeles River in Boyle Heights, and as well as  five acres of park space in the Arts District to the west.

Landscape architecture firm Hargreaves Jones is designing PARC, which is moving forward under a design concept dubbed "Canopy & Objects." The space consists of three main components, with an eastern portion at 6th Street and Mission Road that will include sports fields and courts, picnic areas, and event space, and a western portion at Santa Fe and Mesquit Street featuring an Arts Plaza and River Gateway, featuring a performance lawn, a dog park, and fitness equipment. Directly below the bridge, plans call for the Leonard Hill Arts Plaza, named for the late developer who donated money for the project.

Construction is expected to take roughly two-and-a-half years, the Bureau of Engineering and Councilmember Kevin de Leon announced last year.

View of new park space below Sixth Street ViaductHargreaves Jones

The new park space may serve as a complement to new infrastructure projects in the works along the L.A. River corridor, including a new segment of the Los Angeles River bike path and a proposed extension of Metro's B and D Lines to 6th Street.

Developers have also invested heavily in sites near the viaduct, including Vella Group, which is planning a Bjarke Ingels-designed high-rise complex directly south of the bridge, and East End Capital, which is planning a production studio in Boyle Heights.

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