Crews broke ground Monday at Fanuel Street Park in Pacific Beach, kicking off what the city says will be a quick install of a new play structure and safety surfacing that officials hope to have ready by Memorial Day. The park has sat mostly empty since 2024, when the city tore out the aging playground after inspectors found severe corrosion and deterioration. The rapid replacement is one piece of a broader slate of Mission Bay upgrades rolling out around the bay this year.
The Fanuel project is billed as a partnership between the City of San Diego, the San Diego Parks Foundation and Zoom Recreation, with the company donating and installing the new equipment, city spokesperson Tyler Becker told Times of San Diego. Becker said the park refresh will include new safety surfacing along with sand-play elements. City staff shared a rendering of the revamped play area and held a ceremonial groundbreaking Monday to mark the start of installation.
The San Diego Parks Foundation has launched a community fund to rebuild Fanuel Street Park, setting a $70,000 goal with a $10,000 matching gift, and its project page lists the May 4 groundbreaking and the park address. The San Diego Parks Foundation notes that donors can still give online to support the effort. Local television reporting says resident Dan Smith and his company Zoom Recreation agreed to install the equipment pro bono and that organizers had already raised roughly $45,000 toward the goal, according to NBC 7 San Diego.
What’s Being Built Across Mission Bay
City officials say Fanuel is the smallest of several Mission Bay projects now under way. A three phase program at South De Anza Cove is slated to bring accessible cast in place concrete paving, an accessible playground and safety surfacing, a comfort station, lighting, basketball courts, new landscaping, stormwater facilities and repaved parking lots. Over at Ventura Cove, plans call for demolishing and rebuilding the restroom, adding sidewalks and expanding parking, including spaces reserved for electric vehicles. Those project scopes were outlined by city staff and summarized in local coverage by Times of San Diego.
Price Tag And Timeline
The three capital improvement phases tied to South De Anza and related Mission Bay work carry a combined estimated cost of about $14.5 million, with Ventura Cove making up roughly $4.4 million of that total. City officials say most of phases 1 and 2 should be substantially complete before Memorial Day, while any work that would disrupt beaches or boat ramps during the peak of summer will go on hold until after Labor Day. The remaining pieces, including repaving, concrete repairs and final landscaping, are targeted for completion by spring 2027, according to reporting from Axios San Diego.
Why The Money Is Available
The Mission Bay work is funded through the Mission Bay Park Improvement Fund, a voter created pool of lease and concession revenues established under City Charter Section 55.2 that sends a share of Mission Bay lease income back into park projects. The City of San Diego explains that, after a $20 million threshold is reached, a portion of excess lease revenue flows into the fund to pay for restoration, deferred maintenance and capital projects within the Mission Bay Improvement Zone. City of San Diego
Regulatory Note
There is one regulatory wrinkle: the De Anza Cove component of the program is still under review by the California Coastal Commission, and state rules limit certain shoreline and campground construction during the busiest summer months. That is why the schedule has been split so that the most disruptive work is pushed until after Labor Day, according to Axios San Diego.
Neighbors say the fast turnaround at Fanuel is a welcome change after the playground sat empty for more than a year, and local reporting says San Diego City Council President Joe LaCava is expected to help cut the ribbon once the new structure is in place. NBC 7 San Diego reported that the city expects to reopen the play area around Memorial Day. Anyone who wants to donate or learn more can head to the San Diego Parks Foundation’s Fanuel Street Park project page. San Diego Parks Foundation
