In Santa Ana, 2002 Is ‘the Year of the Park’

Santa Ana will spend $16 million this year in a massive program to expand city parks and recreation centers, a turnaround for a densely populated city where open space is at a premium.

At the center of the activity is a $6.2-million expansion of Delhi Park, which will quadruple in size and will be dedicated this month. A community center is being constructed and a soccer field will be added to the park. “This is going to make a big difference in our community. My children will have a safe place to play and meet their friends,” said Rosalinda Garcia, who was taking a midday walk with her two children when she stopped to admire the soon-to-be-completed center.

Rosie Montanez, president of the Delhi Neighborhood Assn., said residents keep asking her about the park’s opening, scheduled April 1. “They’re excited and anxious to use the park and center,” Montanez said. “Everyone in Delhi believes that this is our park and center. It’s our pride.”

Residents and city officials spent nearly a decade planning and designing the park, at Halladay Street and Warner Avenue.

City Councilman Jose Solorio said it took that long to raise the money from federal, state and local sources.

“Actually, it’s been a dream in the making for over 10 years,” Solorio said.

Solorio, who represents the Delhi community, said the council had the city’s large youth population in mind when it voted on the park improvements.

Youngest Median Age Among Large Cities

With a median age of 26, Santa Ana has a population with the youngest median age among the nation’s 100 largest cities. The city, which covers about 27 square miles, has about 40 parks.

“We worked with all of the city’s communities on this,” Solorio said. “One of the first things I asked for when I joined the council was that we form a committee on park development.”

In Delhi, the city expanded a 2.5-acre park to 10 acres after a city equipment yard was closed. Soccer fields are being added and the 27,000-square-foot community center will have a computer lab, health clinic, dance rooms and an automotive-technology workshop.

New parks are rare in Santa Ana because open land is tough to come by, leaving officials with a challenge--such as squeezing Patricia Lane Park into a 1-acre site in east Santa Ana on what was state surplus property adjacent to the Santa Ana Freeway.

Solorio said officials are working with residents on that park’s design.

Solorio said that “2002 is the year of the park in Santa Ana.... No other city in Orange County has committed as much money to its neighborhood parks.”

The Santa Ana Zoo in Prentice Park is getting a $2.76-million face lift that will include a new children’s zoo with a two-story barn and education center.

At Centennial Park, plans call for a 15,000-square-foot skateboard facility. The 87-acre park already includes ball fields and a sprawling picnic area.

City officials hope to have the park improvements launched or completed by the end of the year.