College to Get Park--8 Years Late

A one-acre patch at East Los Angeles College will be converted into a student park early next year, eight years after the original plans were drawn up.

The project, which will likely get under way in early December and take about 60 days to complete, will be realized solely through volunteer work and donations, said Rebuild L.A. project manager Arnoldo Beltran.

Rebuild L.A., which was formed after the spring riots, has received numerous offers of donations for trees, concrete and other landscaping materials for the park, Beltran said. He also contacted firms such as Lopez Construction Management Corp., which has agreed to draft the plans and see the project through construction. A student artist has offered to donate one of his sculptures.

“This looks like one of those prime examples of the private sector, the community and the government coming together in the interests of the community,” Beltran said. He added that the park construction will cost “on the other side of $200,000.”

The parcel, nestled between buildings adjoining the Vincent Price Art Gallery, was designated as a park site in the college’s master plan and in 1984 it was targeted for development when the Olympics came to town.

But like many improvements proposed for the college, the park was not developed, Beltran said, mostly because there was not enough money.

“The college has been in a tight financial situation for some time and there’s lots of deferred maintenance, but the one thing that stood out symbolically for me was the park because it had been eight years from the time they thought they were going to get it,” Beltran said.

Last week, landscape architect and Eastside activist Frank Villalobos met with college officials, faculty and students to make changes to the park’s design. One change may be to make it more water-efficient, Beltran said.

“We want to make it happen for the students and the community because it is a community resource,” he said.