Civic Center, Parks Give Expanding City Lots Of Choices For Recreation

The continued expansion of Brentwood has led to more offerings from the city, whether it’s a civic center or park to keep the community engaged.

The Brentwood Civic Center has been a dominating feature downtown since its completion in May of 2012. Along with it came many other improvements to downtown that have made it increasingly popular to both locals and others alike.

Before the Civic Center was built, the city government worked out of a set of trailers. As the administration grew, more trailers were added. The city staff and council planned for a more permanent government building, and it would not be until the 1990s that the plan would actually begin to take effect. Along with the creation of a new civic center, they also planned to add a few other additions to downtown. Through community workshops and the help of designers, the city compiled a list of features they wished to include in the upcoming expansion.

The total budget for the Civic Center project was $60 million, which included reconstruction of the park as well as other Downtown improvements, including the parking structure.

During the early stages of development, the planned parking structure was going to be shelved for a time until additional funding could be allocated. But when companies were trying to get the job, the initial price was lower than the city expected. So they were able to build the parking garage because the overall cost of the project was less expensive than what was initially expected.

The building’s design itself was made to look like the historic Hotel Brentwood, which was built in 1913, and was at Railroad and Oak streets. Railroad is damaged in the process. But the city ensured that they would keep their promise to the Sanford family. Every year, it is the home to several events, such as concerts, and Friday night movies in the park. Events including the Rotary Craft Beer Festival, Oktoberfest put on by the Downtown Brentwood Coalition, as well as cultural festivals that include La Gran Fiesta, Muktangan Festival, and the Chinese New Year. now Brentwood Boulevard. Now, it is the home to the Chevron gas station, which was also modeled after the historic hotel.

Surrounding the building is what is known as the “History Walk” – pillars that tell the story of the city. Each pillar is dedicated to a certain period of time, the first starting in 1500 with the settling of the land by Native Americans. The last pillar is 2011, which is marked by the opening of the civic center. The city plans to continue adding to this walk in the future.

The land outside of the Civic Center had long before been a park that was deeded over to the city in 1888 by the Sanford family with the guarantee it would remain a park.

The park was originally known as Brentwood Grove, but is now the Brentwood City Park. When the Civic Center was first proposed, many worried that the park would be destroyed or

Another aspect of this project was the widening of the sidewalks downtown to give restaurants more space to allow for outdoor seating. In 2020, matching overhangs were added as well. This further helped with the several parades throughout the year, such as the Liberty High School Homecoming Parade, the Fourth of July Parade, and the Holiday Parade.

The Civic Center project continues to help Brentwood grow, and increase what it can offer to both residents, business and tourists.