Mira Mesa Community Park’s long-promised glow-up is finally taking shape, with the concrete shell of the new aquatics complex now looming over New Salem Street like a very expensive teaser trailer. The $55 million Phase II overhaul is more than a pool project. It will bring a 14-lane competition pool, a smaller activity pool with a splash pad, two new playgrounds, courts striped for pickleball and an all-wheels plaza laid out for skateboards, bikes and adaptive riders. Parts of the site remain fenced off for safety, but the upgrades are poised to remake a park neighbors have been waiting decades to see fully built out.
As reported by the San Diego Business Journal, construction has pushed past the midway mark, and crews are shifting from the heaviest structural work into interior finishes and site hardscape. That coverage cast the current moment as a long-awaited milestone after years of planning and delays, and it laid out design details along with comments from members of the project team.
What’s Being Built
The current phase centers on a full aquatics complex that includes a 14-lane competition pool, a smaller activity pool and a splash pad, plus an all-wheels plaza and upgraded recreation facilities. The full menu of new amenities is listed on the city’s project profile. The City of San Diego details the lineup of park improvements, while reporting from Times of San Diego spotlighted the competition pool and the planned skate-style all-wheels plaza at the project’s groundbreaking. Hoodline also covered the original groundbreaking and the lengthy lead-up that preceded this construction push.
Progress On The Ground
Monthly site reports from the Mira Mesa Recreation Council show the job steadily ticking forward. Concrete and masonry work are largely wrapped, roofing is in place and pool shotcrete has been completed, with recent notes putting the overall project comfortably past the halfway point. The Mira Mesa Recreation Council has been posting milestone lists and photo updates that track the project from early excavation to storefront glazing and other visible finish work.
Design And Site Challenges
Contract documents and industry trackers list a roughly 6,290-square-foot aquatics building, plus a separate equipment building that serves the two pools and splash pad. Project designers note that native clay soils on the site complicate infiltration and stormwater management, which has pushed the team toward bioretention basins and decorative concrete masonry as part of both the drainage strategy and the visible finish palette. The technical rundown appears in project specs at ConstructConnect and in coverage from the San Diego Business Journal.
Who’s Building and Designing
The city awarded the construction contract to PCL Construction Services, with Platt/Whitelaw Architects serving as the lead design firm for Phase II. Aquatic Design Group is handling pool engineering and construction inspection. City contract documents and consultant listings record the full project team, and updates from the pool designer have shared on-site images of plumbing lines and early pool infrastructure work. The consultant mix and scope are detailed in the city’s procurement notes and staff summaries.
How It’s Paid For
The makeover is funded with neighborhood-specific dollars, primarily fees collected through the Mira Mesa Facilities Benefits Assessment and development impact fees tied to new housing. Community leaders and local reporting say that combination helped push the long-dormant plan back onto the city’s construction calendar. Local coverage and community summaries peg the Phase II price tag at roughly $55 million and outline how the neighborhood-focused funds cleared the way for the contract award. Pacific Coast Commercial and local community reports lay out that funding picture.
When To Expect It
City updates and news reports point to a staged opening, with substantial completion targeted for summer 2026. Landscaping and plant-establishment periods mean some pieces of the project will come online later in phases. Times of San Diego and the city’s project page both note that weather and supply issues could still nudge those dates.
For parkgoers, that means periodic closures and detours around New Salem Street will continue while crews finish utilities, new courts and the plazas. Residents can keep tabs on what is opening, closing or getting poured in concrete by watching the City of San Diego’s project page and the Mira Mesa Recreation Council for monthly construction updates and fresh milestone photos as the project marches toward completion.
