Delayed by winter rains, work on Cañon Street Pocket Park in Point Loma has resumed with completion expected before year’s end.

“Our original completion date for the project was September 2024,” said Margaret Doyle, communications manager and community representative for District 2 City Councilmember Jennifer Campbell. “Due to the last storm season back in February/March, the contractor had to stop working during this time. However, the project is still on schedule to be completed in November or December.”

A decade-long effort to create a Portuguese-themed, three-quarter acre neighborhood park at the end of Avenida de Portugal off Cañon Street commenced with an Aug. 16, 2023, groundbreaking. Peninsula residents joined Campbell and City staff onsite.

The new community park project’s scope includes a new playground, hardscape surfacing, an entry monument, a seat wall, a historic wall, a drinking fountain, safety lighting, ADA-compliant pathways, and site furnishings.

“The Peninsula Community Planning Board thinks the Cañon Street Park is very important for Point Loma,” said board president Fred Kosmo, Jr. “It is the first new park in Point Loma in many years. We have been working with the City on this project for over nine years.”

Kosmo added he and the planning group were “pleased with the initial progress on the park.”

However, some concerns with subsequent project delays have been expressed. “Work was halted for weeks on the half-finished pocket park,” noted Don Sevrens who, along with John Linney, a decade ago began spearheading the transformation of the vacant site into public parkland.

Addressing the City’s new timetable for pocket park completion, Sevrens said: “Construction delays occur often. But this one has gone largely unexplained. Let’s finish the job and move on to other uncompleted tasks in District 2.”

Kosmo noted at the August 2023 groundbreaking that, without Sevrens’ efforts, the Cañon Street Pocket Park “would not have happened and it’s a tribute to perseverance for the community.”

“It (project) was kind of stuck, needed funds to bridge the funding gap, and (COVID and other) delays caused their toll,” noted Sevrens.

“We’re pleased this (park) is being done,” said Kelly Madruga representing United Portuguese S.E.S. Hall of San Diego at the groundbreaking. “It will be great for the kids. It gives us a great sense of community here.”

“Parks are a wonderful space for families, children, and people of all ages to enjoy the outdoors and be healthy,” said Campbell during the groundbreaking ceremony. “The Cañon Street Pocket Park will enhance the lives of families and children in the Point Loma community, and it will turn a vacant lot into a beautiful area for generations to enjoy.”

Tyler Becker, senior spokesperson for the City’s Communications Department, said the new park is “75% complete,” while adding, “The project is fully funded for a total cost of $3.44 million.” He added the project’s funding is coming from the Peninsula Urban Community Fund and Debt General Fund (Capital Improvements Program projects).

The CIP is the long-range plan for all individual capital improvement projects and funding sources. CIP Projects are unique construction projects that provide improvements or additions such as land, buildings, and infrastructure.

Regarding the pocket park project’s theme, Becker noted: “The park will feature public art inspired by the neighborhood’s relationship to the sea and the local history of Portuguese shipping culture.”

More information about the project’s public art can be found on the Commission for Arts and Culture website.

Will there be a formal dedication ceremony when park construction is completed? “Details on a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of this project are not finalized at this time,” said Becker.

A public art piece, Horizon Dock, has been commissioned by the City of San Diego Commission for Arts & Culture specifically for Canon Street Pocket Park. The artist, Nate Page, uses traditional Portuguese tiles to tell the story of the local fishing industry, allowing viewers to symbolically look out to sea.

CAÑON STREET POCKET PARK

Total project cost: $3,445,921.

Estimated construction contract amount: $1,815,378.

Contractor: Dick Miller, Inc.

For questions or concerns about the park project, call the Public Works Department construction project information line at 619-533-4207, email [email protected], or submit your inquiry online. Reference the project name in your inquiry.