OXNARD, Calif. – The City of Oxnard will receive $8.5 million in Statewide Park Development and Community Revitalization Program grant funds for the Campus Park Activation Project, which will transform an additional 26 acres of park space that has been closed to the public. In a highly competitive process where the State of California received 478 applications, Oxnard is one of only 62 grants that were awarded funding from the state’s $254 million program Prop 68 budget.
“This is a huge win for our City that was made possible by the dedicated efforts of both our City staff and the residents of Oxnard,” said Mayor Tim Flynn. “Thanks to the community’s feedback, our vision to revitalize Campus Park has been approved with a dedicated source of funding for a major portion of the project.”
Campus Park, located at 350 S. K St., currently has a dog park and recreational programming that operates out of the old high school building onsite. In 2001 the City received the property from the State of California Education Department, which had part of the property fenced off from the public. The City acquired the site in order to retain grounds for future public recreation and community services.
“This project highlights the importance of grants,” said Public Works Director Rosemarie Gaglione. “By leveraging our staff resources, we are able to get additional funding for a project that otherwise would not be moving forward due to our current budget challenges.”
The City will use the grant funding to design and construct a bicycle pump track, skate park, playground, basketball courts, pelota mixteca court, performing arts amphitheater/pavilion, multi-use field/meadow, community garden, public art, walking trails, stormwater improvements, lighting and landscaping throughout Campus Park, and will renovate the parking lot.
“The Commission greatly appreciates how Oxnard Parks Division staff brought together a broad cross-section of Oxnard residents to brainstorm a vision for Campus Park. The series of resident workshops were vital to the success of the grant application,” said Roger Poirier, Chair of the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Commission. “Without this community input, we could not have developed such an authentic story for the park that will bring much needed recreational, cultural, social, health, and educational benefits to everyone in Oxnard.”
The City held six community workshops in June and July of 2019 to develop the conceptual design that was included in the grant application. Through these workshops, residents identified and prioritized the amenities that were selected as the recreation features requested for the park.
The City would like to thank the Ventura County Public Health’s Chronic Disease Prevention Program, the Friends of Campus Park, the Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project, and the many residents and youth who attended the community workshops and collaborated in supporting the development of the concept proposal.
The project will complete construction in March of 2022.
For more information, call Eric Humel at (805) 271-2231.
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