The next phase of the long-awaited renovations to our beloved Dolores Park is set to begin January of 2014. The park will shut down what locals refer to as 'Hipster Hill' for the first six months of the new year so it can revamp the highly used green space to better serve more of the community and iron out some structural wrinkles that have badgered the grounds for decades.

We've been following the evolution of the Park remodel since the Biscuit first popped out of the blog roll oven. It has seen meeting upon community meeting, endless redesigns, and even a full-court, hard-press from a local neighborhood doctor, Dr. Claudia Praetel, living adjacent to the green who appealed and tried unsuccessfully to halt the two-decade old, soul-grinding process right as it neared receiving final approval.

Now, post Helen Diller playground rebuild (near the Fruit Shelf portion of the park), Phase II is set to jump off in the next six weeks at the beginning of the new year in January. Park users will now have to cozy up with neighbors and push those blankets a bit closer together. Hipster Hill will be sectioned off for upgrades to make the area ADA compliant/accessible, add new designated dog run areas, remodel bathrooms, install new landscaping, and add a desperately needed modernized water drainage and rain shed. This portion of the parks repurposing is slated to last approximately six months and be ready for the crush of hipsters seeking to practice the dark art of Acro-Yoga by the time of the next Trans March in June of 2014. Fingers crossed.