PASO ROBLES, CA, November 19, 2019 – The City of Paso Robles is preparing to take ownership of a long-empty lot at the corner of 18th and Spring, that will soon be transformed into a neighborhood park and plaza.
A long-time local winery owner purchased the empty lot in 2017 with the idea of turning it into a small park for the community to enjoy.
“Paso has been good to me. My kids were born and raised here. I love this town and I wanted to give back a bit. A park seemed like a great way to do that.”
The empty lot, located adjacent to the under-construction Paso Market Walk, was the home of Rose’s Chevron for 50+ years and has spent the last few years earning a clean bill of health from the Regional Water Quality Safety Board as a result of stringent cleanup efforts on the part of Chevron. The very last of the monitoring wells were removed in early November, so construction can begin as soon as the park designs are approved by City Council.
The City is working on an agreement to take ownership once the park construction is complete. Since the park is a private project that will become a public park, the project will follow a hybrid approval process that combines both private and public processes and will likely take 3-6 months to complete. It is anticipated that the park will be ready for the City to take ownership by late 2020, weather and contractor schedules permitting.
The first step of the approval process will be a public Open House to view the park designs, which will take place on Thursday, November 21, 2019 from 3-5 PM at the park site (1745 Spring Street). All residents within 500 feet of the park site will receive door hanger notices about the event, anyone can attend to view the plans.
The donor will be on site to answer questions and the park designers, Ten Over Studio, will take resident feedback. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend.
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