Big makeover plans for Lions Park with a new library and community center go to a joint meeting Tuesday
Costa Mesa’s City Council, Planning Commission and Parks and Recreation Commission will hold a joint meeting Tuesday to discuss and possibly greenlight the city’s ambitious blueprint to remake Lions Park.
At the center of those plans is construction of a new two-story, 22,860-square-foot library. The park’s 8,740-square foot Donald Dungan Library branch would be converted to a community center.
The site’s Neighborhood Community Center would be demolished to carve out the needed space for the new library.
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If the plan is approved, the city could start construction in July.
The projects would transform Lions Park “to provide a more vibrant community-oriented venue and facilities with enhanced and flexible open space,” according to a staff report.
The almost 13-acre park is also home to Davis Field, the Costa Mesa Historical Society, Downtown Recreation Center and the Downtown Aquatic Center.
Designs up for review Tuesday call for the first floor of the library to include meeting and multipurpose rooms, a children’s library and various workrooms. The second floor would include a teen room, study rooms and a staff lounge.
The new library would have a smaller building footprint than the existing Neighborhood Community Center, leaving an extra acre or so of open space in Lions Park, according to a staff report.
That additional space “will provide a venue for various activities including art shows, concerts, farmers markets and recreational programs,” the report states.
As part of Donald Dungan’s transition to a community center, city officials propose expanding the building’s floor area by about 600 square feet to accommodate a new catering kitchen as well as mechanical, electrical and audio/visual equipment, and whatever else is needed for the conversion.
Also part of the proposal is construction of an 890-square-foot café for park patrons.
The estimated cost of the Lions Park projects is $36 million, which the city proposes to cover with a roughly 50-50 mix of cash and borrowing.
Should the projects be approved, city staff would return to the council with financing options.
Tuesday’s joint meeting starts at 6 p.m. in the Los Lagos Room of the Costa Mesa Country Club, 1701 Golf Course Drive.
Twitter: @LukeMMoney
