The USS Midway Museum and the Port of San Diego will break ground Thursday on Freedom Park at Navy Pier, a project proponents say will be the largest veterans park on the West Coast.
The multi-year joint project between the Midway and port is anticipated to open in early 2028.
Along with Midway President and CEO Terry Kraft and port Chairman Frank Urtasun, participants at the 8:30 a.m. ceremony will include Rep. Scott Peters, D-San Diego, Mayor Todd Gloria and Navy Region Southwest Chief of Staff Capt. Dwight Clemons.
They will each make remarks on the importance of Freedom Park to San Diego as "an enhancement of the Embarcadero and a public destination on the waterfront, as well as an ongoing tribute to the men and women who have worn the uniform of our nation," a statement from the Midway reads.
The park will start at the west end of Navy Pier and go around the USS Midway to the Bob Hope Memorial and will feature a nature garden, memorials and monuments, seating and shading and interpretive signage.
Following unanimous approval from the California Coastal Commission in 2023, the port's Board of Commissioners in February 2024 approved a $7.4 million contract with AMG Demolition for demolition of the large head-house building that sits at the entrance of the pier.
That demolition will begin this spring and make way for the construction of Freedom Park, port officials said. Groundbreaking ceremony participants will use golden sledge hammers to break cinderblock pavers to officially launch the Freedom Park project.
The park is estimated to cost around $65 million. A total of $29 million has already been committed to the project from several sources, including the port, Midway and through the support of Rep. Peters. An additional $36 million will be raised by the USS Midway Foundation's capital campaign committee.
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