Gateway Park project contract awarded for $540,233

The gateway between the Balboa Peninsula and Lido Isle is poised to get a facelift, following this week’s approval of a $540,233 contract by the Newport Beach City Council.

Gateway Park was completed in 1999 after Lido Isle residents Helen Japenga, Gail Rosenstein and Jim Thomson raised $217,000 to buy a former gas station and, in an effort to create an inviting entrance between the Balboa Peninsula and Lido Isle, converted it into what it is today.

City staff said the park, which is comprised of two stretches of landscaping on either side of Newport Boulevard and Via Lido, has damaged planter walls and is in need of repairs to its existing electrical system. Its landscaping is also in need of refreshing and new signage is needed.

The city of Newport Beach approved a $540,223 contract with Armstrong Cal Builders, Inc. to refresh Gateway Park, which was initially built back in 1999.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

The City Council on Tuesday approved the contract to the second-lowest bidder, Armstrong Cal Builders, Inc. as the lowest bidder did not have the license necessary to complete the work.

The contract is roughly 8% higher than the $497,700 that had first been projected by city engineers, according to staff.

This does not include the construction contingency, which is $54,000. That brings the total cost of the work, which is expected to get underway in coming weeks, to nearly $596,000.

The scope of the project includes the removal and replacement of old or overgrown plants; installing new palm trees; adding new lighting and replacement signage and painting the walls. All existing donated trees and palms will be maintained.

Additionally, a walkway that was previously closed on the north side of the park will be reopened between Lido Marina Village and Newport Boulevard.

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