A $5 million grant from the Statewide Park Program is making a significant portion of Crescent City’s Beachfront Park project possible.
An exuberant Eric Wier, Crescent City’s city manager, took to social media shortly after the announcement - shouting out the infamous words of Jerry McGuire “Show me the money!”
“The state is telling us, we will show you the money, we will show you $5 million, and in return we will be able to build this park,” Wier said.
The funding will allow for the construction of a bike park, will double the size of the current KidTown, and create an ADA-compliant one-mile loop and new entryway.
The latest set of awards under the Statewide Park Program totaled $153 million across the state, and targets new parks and recreation opportunities in underserved communities.
According to Wier, the $5 million is short of the $8.5 million that was requested in the grant application, but “another grant application is right on the heels of this that we feel we will be able to put a strong application in, and that application is due in about a month,” Wier said.
The remaining $3.5 million would be used to fund a large amphitheater and waterfront plaza that was included in the overall Beachfront Master Plan.
Two years ago, a series of workshops and input from residents of Del Norte County, as well as the tribal nations of Tolowa Dee-Ni’ and Elk Valley Rancheria, resulted in the culmination of the Beachfront Master Plan that was created by Oakland-based PGAdesign Landscape Architects.
Under that same plan, a cultural interpretive trail will encompass the east side of the park.
“That will really be a place where people can experience the true history of Crescent City, the true history of the Tolowa Dee-Ni’ people, and learn about the culture, their values, and really give a history of who we are as a community and what a special place it is,” Wier said.