With her 3-month old baby sucking on her thumb, Kristen Harmony walked on the rocks, gravel and piles of dirt in Old Town Goleta, fantasizing about what the area will one day look like.
“We’re really excited about the future of Old Town,” said Harmony, holding her infant, Duke, on her chest. “The splash pads are going to be awesome.”
Harmony, Duke, her husband, Nate Harmony, and nana Laurie Foster, were among the people who attended Tuesday’s groundbreaking ceremony in Old Town, to kick off construction on a new 4-acre site near the corner of Hollister and Kellogg Avenues.
The park will contain a multi-purpose field, basketball court, handball court, concrete ping-pong table, bocce ball court, pickleball court, perimeter walking path, fitness nodes with exercise equipment, picnic areas, skateboard plaza and splash pad, which will be installed during phase two, according to the city of Goleta.
The park is intended to serve a critical need in Goleta. Old Town is considered to be critically underserved with regard to the ratio of parks and open space to population.
Goleta’s Old Town has 1.5 acres of park space for its roughly 5,500 residents. The rest of Goleta has 17 acres of open space per 1,000 residents.
“We are making history today,” said JoAnne Plummer, Goleta’s parks and recreation manager. “We are building the biggest park that has been designed by you, Goleta’s residents.”
Goleta Mayor Paula Perotte said she was doing “the happy dance.”
“This is truly an exciting day,” Perotte said. “This truly is a park for the community, designed by the community.”
Goleta received $910,000 from Proposition 84 state funds for construction and a $10,000 grant from the Davenport Institute. The rest of the funding has come from park developer impact fees.
Construction is expected to last a year. The city of Goleta is also planning to construct a bike bath that connects Calle Real on the other side of Highway 101 to Hollister Avenue.
Goleta City Councilman Roger Aceves said the Old Town Park has been talked about for years.
“I am happy to see we will soon start construction,” Aceves said. “The most exciting part is that many of the people in Old Town are transit dependent and they will be able to walk to their park. I also see the Boys & Girls Club becoming big users.”
Families such as Kristen, Duke and Nate Harmony will certainly become users.
“This community has been really isolated,” Nate said. “I am really excited.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
