New Park Rises on Site of Old Strip Club

After nine years of effort, city officials and community members on Thursday celebrated the groundbreaking of a new park in North Hills that will occupy the former site of a strip club.

The 3 1/2-acre Sepulveda Park West, at Parthenia Place and Columbus Avenue, will eventually include three lighted soccer fields, playground equipment, a paved walking path and restrooms when it opens in May. Basketball courts, which were cut for lack of funding, might be added later, officials said.

The park, just east of Sepulveda Boulevard, is expected to draw visitors from throughout North Hills, which has been plagued by gang problems.

“It will bring kids who are serious about recreation to a park that is on neutral land,” said Harry Coleman, head of the North Hills Community Coordinating Council, an organization of more than 1,650 residents working to improve the area.

Coleman, who grew up in the area, said more recreation opportunities are sorely needed. Even though the 10-acre Sepulveda Recreation Center is only five blocks away from the new park site, Coleman said the community needs another place to gather.

In 1992, Coleman began making calls to the owners of the parcel to encourage them to sell. The strip club burned down a few years ago, and the land was sitting vacant.

The city purchased the property for about $2.3 million and will spend another $2.8 million on design and construction, said project manager Paul Tseng. Most of the funding comes from Proposition K, a bond approved by voters in 1996.

City Councilman Alex Padilla, who was among the 100 people at Thursday’s festivities, said the park will have a great effect on local residents. “It’s the result of the community coming together,” he said.