CONNECTIONS 2023 u

gagement parties. The facility, with its dedicated senior spaces has supported continued learning and promoted emotional and mental wellness for the aging community. The addition of the Teen Scene has provided a daily place for youth to congregate in a safe and supportive space. The Kids Town offers a ‘rainy day’ playground that is open for free drop-in use. The caregivers have noted that they truly appreciate a space to let kids run around and play with friends when the weather makes it infeasible to do so outside.

Community Center / Mixed Use Facility Class 3

West Hollywood Park Aquatics and Recreation Center

LPA Design Studios

West Hollywood Park is a treasured part of this very dense, walkable city of 35,000 people. The Aquatic and Recreation Center (ARC) is a cultural and recreational hub of the community, a popular gathering space located along two central Boulevards in the city, the new ARC reflects identity, diversity, and interests of the unique West Hollywood community, in many ways. The 138,000-square-foot facility, which achieved LEED Gold, serves as a new art and cultural icon for the city. The design also creates much needed open space for a landlocked city where every square foot of green space is precious. The most dramatic feature of the ARC, the grand stairway, leads the public 65 feet in the air, creating a symbolic connection between the building and the community. Landscaped stadium seating along the stair provides an elevated vantage point for viewing performances in the park or hanging out with friends. As visitors climb the stairs, they reach the green roof and the respite deck, an outdoor lounging area that looks out over the park. Just a few steps higher and guests enter the rooftop aquatic center, which features two swimming pools, as well as a yoga deck and space for events with spectacular views of the iconic Hollywood sign and surround ing city. Directly below the pools, a 17,000-square-foot multi-sport court accommodates a wide range of recreational activities, including basketball, volleyball and dodgeball. The building structure spans across an existing road to connect the recre ation and community spaces together and connecting the project to the city park. The stacked building program creates a minimal building footprint to provide as much open park space for the residents as possible. All nonathletic ground covering adheres to the overall sustainable narrative including a robust California native and drought tolerant pallet which encourage specific bird and insect populations to thrive. The design creates a connection and represents the varied demographics throughout the community. Athletes, children, seniors, artists and families can all find their place within the facility as well as the park. This project connects community members to one another, and an onsite public-access TV station connects the facility to the world. Ultimately, the ARC creates a new community resource, connecting health and wellness to the center of the city. The design team worked hard to accommodate the diverse population equally and give everyone a place they could call their own.

Excellence in DesignPark Planning Community Class 3

Enchanted Hills Community Park City of Perris

The construction of the 22-acre Enchanted Hills Community Park and programs. These goals promote health and wellness, recreational experiences, foster social cohesiveness, strengthen community identity and sense of place. In 2016, Perris launched the Parks Make Life Better! campaign to develop more parks within City boundaries and increase access to green spaces for residents where they can partake in recreational opportunities, and physical activity. The Enchanted Hills community was identified as a park deficient neighborhood with limited access to green space, which negatively impacted their physical, emotional, and mental health.

The City of Perris identified 22-acres of vacant and undeveloped land and worked effortlessly for various years to acquire these privately owned parcels in hopes of one day developing a quality and safe park space for residents. The 22 acres of land had become an extremely blighted location being utilized as a makeshift dumping site that was detrimental to the safety, health, and welfare of the community. The Park site was considered unsightly, unsafe, abandoned, and uninhabitable. Consequently, residents would complain about the amount of waste, abandoned couches, old mattresses, piles of used tires, and large debris that had been illegally dumped. Neighborhood youth played on the streets in the dark, and the lack of site lighting attracted public nuisance and illegal activity. All these factors contributed to a lack of community identity and an absence of physical, emotional, mental health and wellness opportunities.

The now completed 22-acre Enchanted Hills Park transformed this neighborhood into a revitalized, landscaped, and vibrant community. The Park features a host of amenities requested by Enchanted Hills residents who provided their feedback through extensive community outreach efforts hosted by the City. Some of these park amenities include a multi-use open grass field, an all-inclusive playground, a water splash pad, two full-size basketball courts, a BMX track, hiking trails, a skate spot, zip lines, an adventure course with fitness equipment, park lighting, decorative furnishings, group gathering areas, and landscaping. These amenities promote health and wellness, strengthening community identity in their built environment.

Neighborhood Class 1

PicoPark Roldan Mini-Pitch City of Pico Rivera

The City of Pico Rivera is facing significant obstacles in providing recreational programs and spaces for its residents. The major challenges include 1) an increasing number of community members calling for more soccer-based programs and areas 2) a county parks need assessment deeming Pico Rivera as ‘park poor,’ and 3) a major impending federal infrastructure project will eliminate 166 acres of park space in the City with a severe loss in 2023. These challenges have made it difficult to provide new recreational spaces, particularly soccer areas.

Fortunately, the City had a unique opportunity through a significant community collaboration to support CPRS’s Parks Make Life Better! goals. A joint effort among residents and MLS professionals, the Roldan Family, support from City leaders, and support of major organizations to install a Mini-Pitch court in the City fosters social cohesiveness, strengthens community identity, facilitates community problem resolution, and supports a vibrant community.

Fosters social cohesivenessPico Rivera has been a football and baseballdominated community. While there are several opportunities for football and baseball, there are fewer opportunities for soccer. The Mini-Pitch court is the first step in providing new, improved, and a variety of amenities to all. Additionally, Pico Park is located on the north side of Pico Rivera, where the immediate community is losing 166 acres of land due to a federal project. The Mini-Pitch is a proactive step in finding alternatives to the inevitable issue.

Strengthens community identityThe Mini-Pitch projects reflect the tight-knitted community of Pico Rivera. The project, initiated by residents and MLS soccer athletes, gained traction from the City Council and full support from City staff. The Mini-Pitch is named after the Roldan family, as they represent Pico Rivera’s immigrant success history while valuing hometown pride. With their name on the court, visiting families can appreciate their efforts to give back to their neighbors.

Facilitates community problem resolutionsThe specific area of Pico Park had fallen in disarray. The deteriorating former basketball court was no longer an area for people to come together. It was in desperate need of improvements. The Mini-Pitch has transformed the once blighted isolated corner into a state-of-the-art sports complex will additional safety lights, visual enhancements, and new amenities.

Neighborhood Class 2

Playhouse Village Park City of Pasadena

The concept of adding a new park to a high density area of the City of Pasadena has been an idea over a decade in the making. The area is comprised of multi-family housing and businesses and had no green spaces or places for families to recreate. The site of a 9,750 square-foot bank and a City-owned parking lot and were merged to create the Playhouse Village Park. The park includes a children’s play area with accessible playground, a dog run, a trellised structure over a sitting/stage area, lighted pathways, restroom and storage building, and a 48-space parking lot.

The community has changed over the years, but the constant need has been parks and recreation space. City leadership heard the call of areas residents and businesses and came up with a plan to ensure this new park would benefit everyone that surrounded it. Some of the guiding principles the City wished to achieve included designing a safe space with adequate lighting; creating inviting environment with design features and programming that engages with the surrounding neighborhood; developing a flexible, welldesigned space with areas that respond to a variety of uses and programming; ensuring the park is resident-serving, addressing the unmet needs of the local neighborhood; and creating space that could be used year-round. After a robust public outreach campaign, the following elements were selected as part of the park design:

• Central lawn surface for recreation and community gatherings;