Walnut Park gets its first dedicated park space

At a December 9 ceremony highlighted by Aztec dancers and students from a nearby elementary school, Los Angeles County cut the ribbon on Nogales Park, the first dedicated park space in the unincorporated community of Walnut Park.

The half-acre green space, located on a previously vacant lot at 2603 Grand Avenue, includes features such as a splash pad, a lawn, exercise equipment, and a performance stage. Additionally, infrastructure sits below the surface of the park to capture stormwater runoff from 31 acres which surround the the park site.

“Walnut Park is one of the top ten most densely-populated communities in the entire County. This is a community that for as long as anyone can remember has dealt with too little open space, not enough trees, and too few recreational opportunities," said Hahn in statement. "Nogales Park changes that. We didn’t let a single inch of space go to waste. From its more than 30 trees to the free community events and activities we’re going to bring here, this beautiful half acre is a breath of fresh air for Walnut Park, in more ways than one.”

The project, which was funded through Proposition 68, was estimated to cost $9.8 million at the time it began construction in 2022.

Despite its name implying otherwise, Walnut Park is among the most park poor areas in Los Angeles County, ranking 116th out of 120 communities in the 2016 Parks and Public Health Report. Prior to the debut of Nogales Park, the only publicly open space in Walnut Park was a 4.5-acre area which also doubles as the playground of the local elementary school.

Plans for the new pocket park date back to 2019, when a motion from Supervisor Hilda Solis, who then represented Walnut Park, initiated the purchase of the long vacant project site.

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• Nogales Park (Urbanize LA)