A South Los Angeles property owned by the Department of Water and Power (LADWP) could be repurposed as public open space, according to a new environmental study.

The half-acre site, located at the northeast corner of Figueroa Street and Slauson Avenue, was once the site of LADWP's Figueroa Pump station, which was deactivated and demolished in 1959.  In the more than 60 years that have passed, the site has remained unused, although a fence was constructed around its perimeter and trash cleanups are conducted to remove debris.

With no future plans to reactivate the pump station site, LADWP is partnering with the office of 9th District City Councilmember Curren Price and the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks to transform property into a neighborhood park.  Under the proposed arrangement, LADWP would complete a cleanup of soil contamination before leasing the land to Recreation and Parks, which would redevelop and maintain the site afterward.  The remediation process would begin in Winter 2022 and be completed over a two-to-three-month period.

Empty LADWP property at Figueroa and Slauson slated for parkGoogle Street View

The proposed park, which is still in its design phase, would likely include walking paths, seating areas, shade structures, exercise stations, landscaping, and play equipment.  Additionally, the project may incorporate an underground cistern to capture stormwater runoff, which would be used to irrigate the park.

As with many Los Angeles parks, it would be fully enclosed with perimeter fencing, and closed between sunset and sunrise.  However, as the park is proposed to serve just the surrounding neighborhood, no parking is planned.

Although a precise schedule for the project has not been set, the study estimates that construction would occur over an approximately six-month period starting in mid-2022.

The project's location along Slauson Avenue would place in near the heart of the planned Rail to Rail/River corridor, a Metro project which would convert an adjoining freight rail right-of-way into an active transportation route connecting the Crenshaw/LAX Line with South Los Angeles neighborhoods to the east.