Along Chula Vista's bayfront, another new chapter is beginning.
Regional leaders drove their shovels into the dirt Tuesday morning for a ceremonial kickoff of construction for Chula Vista bayfront’s new Harbor Park.
The space is currently a dirt lot with small shrubs, sitting in front of the recently opened Gaylord Pacific Resort & Convention Center. But soon it will feature a nautical-themed playground, splash pad, new landscaping and pathways.
“The new parkland is going to be 12 acres that surround this entire area. Mostly all the dirt area you see here will become park,” said Port of San Diego chair Ann Moore.
The area was previously known as Bayside Park. Once fully completed, the new park will be twice as big as what is currently there.
“To get here today we had to tackle a lot of complex issues along the way,” she said. “We had to clean up industrial pollution, upgrade sewer and stormwater systems, enhance electrical infrastructure, implode a power plant, expand H street and so much more.”
Harbor Park is the latest undertaking in the Chula Vista Bayfront Redevelopment project. While construction began in 2022, the redevelopment is the result of a decades-long planning effort.
Just last spring, the 39-acre Sweetwater Park opened up as part of the project.
Chula Vista resident Clara Valdez regularly exercises with a group of women in the area. She said she's hopeful for further improvements.
“I’ve been liking it because it’s been improving. At first, I was worried we might lose the green space. But I think they’re doing it with the community in mind,” she told KPBS in Spanish.
Harbor Park will be developed in two phases, starting with the $15-million-dollar south phase. The port has yet to identify funding for the north phase.
Chula Vista mayor John McCann said the new park space and redevelopment project as a whole are making the city a waterfront destination in the South Bay.
“It means children playing by the bay, it means safe beautiful spaces where neighbors connect and memories are made. And it means expanded access to our coastline because our waterfront belongs to everyone,” McCann said.
The playground at Harbor Park is expected to be completed this fall, and the splash pad is expected to be open in early 2027.
