PicFair Village

Funding Puzzle

Though Park 101 has popular support, with the California Department of Transportation, the city Planning Department and the Southern California Association of Governments among those endorsing the basic idea, it remains little more than a vision at this point.

A meeting on Thursday, May 13, at the Caltrans headquarters will represent the first step in a public approval and entitlement process, though Davies acknowledges that the grand vision put together by AECOM will likely be pared down into a more feasible undertaking. He said the entitlement process could take five years.

The budget is not set. In 2008, the student project pegged the cost at about $800 million, but that included elements beyond the main thrust of the cap and the park, such as extra greening of adjacent streets, said Christine Safriet, senior economics associate with AECOM.

Funding sources are also unclear, though Davies said the project will pursue everything from Measure R money, which voters approved in 2009 to support various transportation projects, to federal grant dollars and private investment.

Perhaps the most viable economic engine for the project, said Davies, stems from the so-called Alameda District Plan. Approved by the city in 1996, it entitled some 11 million square feet of space for commercial and residential development in the area east and north of Union Station.

Davies said project stakeholders will pursue a change in the plan so that its boundaries would stretch further west, encompassing the proposed Park 101 project area in order to encourage various kinds of new development. Any future projects could then be assessed a tax that could help fund the park, he said.

If the project ever gets off the ground, it will likely rise in phases. The first piece would likely center around El Pueblo and Union Station, making a more pedestrian friendly walkway between the two landmarks, and capping the segment of the freeway between Main and Los Angeles streets, Davies said.

The May 13 meeting will take place from 4-6 p.m. at the Caltrans District 7 headquarters, 200 S. Main St. More information is at dot.ca.gov.

Contact Ryan Vaillancourt at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .