A new park is coming to Isla Vista later this year on Pardall Road, one of the main routes students take from Isla Vista to the UC Santa Barbara campus.
After years of planning, the Isla Vista Recreation and Parks District (IVRPD) broke ground on Pardall Gardens at 6514 Pardall Road. The new park will feature a wooden deck, benches, picnic tables, bar-top seating and walkways.
“When I think about this park, I think about all the people that frequent this area and will be able to have a place to rest here, to meet their friends, eat food from our wonderful restaurants, maybe have a study break before or after going to campus, maybe meeting with your family,” said Ash Valenti, chairperson for the IVRPD Board of Directors. “I’m really excited to see it come together.”
Valenti said the park does not have a water hookup and will rely on rain water. Initially groundskeepers will bring in water to help get the plants established.
“At first, our grounds crew will water the plants; over time, though, they will live off of rainwater and be drought tolerant,” Valenti said. “So this will be a really good example of a xeriscape plant landscaping design that can thrive in our natural environment.”
The theme of the park is “Peaceful Pardall,” designed as a space for residents to get a break from the chaos of school and Isla Vista living.
“I love the fact that it’s called peaceful,” said Second District County Supervisor Laura Capps. “It’s going to provide more peace to all of us, and 30, 40, 50, 70 years from now students and Isla Vista residents will be enjoying this park.”
The park has been in the works since 2021 when IVPRD conducted a survey to get public input on what projects the district should prioritize with Measure O funding. Voters approved the special tax measure in 2016 to generate revenue for capital improvement projects and recreational programming.
“It’s really exciting,” said Luis Valerio, IVRPD assistant general manager. “We’ve been working a lot with the community, started out with the board, community meetings, voting, and to be here today, to finally start breaking ground and get this construction going is really exciting.”
To celebrate the start of construction, IVRPD held a groundbreaking on Friday complete with cake, mini shovel spoons, the Santa Barbara Bubble Guy, and the Brasscals band.
The project is estimated to cost $773,757. The project received two state grants: a $250,000 Recreational Revenue Infrastructure Enhancement grant and a $177,952 per capita program grant, funded by Proposition 68.
IVRPD committed $268,805 from its Measure O budget for the park, and the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors awarded $77,000 toward lighting.
The park is designed by Pacific Coast Land Design, which is also redesigning Children’s Park at 6681 Picasso Road.
Valerio said construction will be completed in June, and then there will be a 90-day maintenance period to allow the plants to get established. The park is set to open at the start of UCSB’s fall quarter in September.
