As San Francisco Rec and Parks puts the finishing touches on Alamo Square Park before its grand reopening, Hoodline went behind the scenes to get a sneak peek of its $5.3 million makeover.

And yes, according to project manager Brett Desmarais, the May 24th grand reopening date is “still on.”

The highly anticipated opening will celebrate a renovation funded primarily through voter-approved 2008 and 2012 parks bonds. It includes a $1.6 million full irrigation system and native plant grant from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), and $1.2 million worth of construction, which includes new pavement and more from SF Rec and Park.

The Alamo Square Neighborhood Association (ASNA) also secured $52,000 to plant an additional 45 trees to stagger the aging process of existing trees.

We took an exclusive look through the new and improved Alamo Square Park to check out some of the upgrades:

As promised, a new pathway was paved with drought-resistant, low maintenance "no mow" lawn turf. 

According to Desmarais, the new grass is very "water-efficient, supports the habitat and should thrive in full sun or partial shade."

A new single-use and all gender restroom is located on an ADA-accessible pathway on the Steiner Street entrance next to the playground. The new restroom will have automatic air hand dryers.

Desmarais noted that the old restroom has also been updated with new hand dryers.

To complement the new restroom, landscaping with low maintenance native plants was added, with updated drainage. 

Two park benches were added along with a new water fountain, complete with a water bottle filling station.

Along the path that leads to this area, a new walkway has been installed with artistic imprints of leaves.

One thing visitors are bound to notice during a visit to the new Alamo Square Park is that the tennis court will not be open. During the next year, it will see improvements, and Desmarais told us that Rec & Parks would be searching for a contractor to upgrade the tennis court.

In the meantime, it will serve as a plant nursery. Native plants from nurseries all over California will remain in the tennis court until they are planted in the park.

Commemorative concrete name plaques were also installed to honor members of the ASNA who contributed to the park's upgrades.

The grand re-opening ceremony will take place next Wednesday, May 24th at 11:30am. For more information, visit the event link.