New Park to Start Construction Near Ballona Creek

Image credit: SWA Group

The park-poor Del Rey neighborhood is about to get a $3 million infusion of green space, courtesy of the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA).  According to signs recently posted across the street from Marina Middle School, the long-delayed Milton Street Park is scheduled to break ground this summer.  The linear, 1.2-acre green space would replace a currently vacant property along the banks of Ballona Creek, owned by the Baldwin Hills Regional Conservation Authority (BHRCA)

According to designs from the Downtown-based SWA Group, Milton Street Park would offer bird watching platforms, outdoor seating, picnic areas, and enhancements to the popular Ballona Creek bike path.  Plans would utilize green-design elements such as recycled materials, flow-through planters and native vegetation to create an ecological habitat for birds, insects and reptiles.  The park would also make improvements to its namesake street, including new speed bumps and a mid-block crosswalk to ensure pedestrian safety.

Milton Street Park represents the latest chapter in a long series of efforts to revitalize Ballona Creek and its surrounding environs.  The BHRCA and MRCA have spearheaded these endeavors, installing new signage, gates and greenery along the banks of the meandering waterway.  Although these improvements are modest in terms of budget and scale when compared to the $1 billion LA River restoration, Ballona Creek has nonetheless benefited from similar grassroots support.

Ballona Creek Renaissance (BCR) - a nonprofit organization established in 1995 - provides advocacy and educational efforts on behalf of the waterway.  In addition, BCR hosts cleanups of the creek and adjacent bike trail several times per year.

Mini Multi-Family Project for Del Rey

5980 Centinela Avenue

Let the stucco rise on the Westside.  Earlier this year, a nondescript single family home at the corner of Centinela Avenue and Culver Drive was unceremoniously demolished.  Fast forward to December, and an equally nondescript five-story structure containing twelve rental units has risen in its place.  The apartments are located just a short drive from a variety of Westside activity and employment hubs, including Venice, Playa Vista, Culver City and Santa Monica.  While it may not offer sweeping views of West Los Angeles like other low-rise developments this side of the 405, the building does overlook Ballona Creek, which has received a variety of community based upgrades over the past several years.  Perhaps Ballona Creek provides a realistic model for those parts of the LA River which aren't included in the Army Corps of Engineer's dramatic restoration project.  Regular neighborhood cleanups, landscaping and improved water flow have transformed a malodorous flood control channel into well patronized public space.  Other nearby projects include the Dinerstein Cos.' Millennium Del Rey and Lincoln Property Group's Runway Playa Vista.