2022
In 2022, Pogo Park secured a highly competitive $5 million Clean California grant from Caltrans. These funds will be used to complete the Yellow Brick Road and make additional improvements to Harbour-8 Park. In September, we broke ground on the Harbour-8 Park Expansion Project.
2021
In 2021, after 13 years of work, Pogo Park broke ground on the Yellow Brick Road®. We also started our Mock-Up Design Process for Harbour-8 Park. And after being forced to shut our park programs, we were happy to reopen our programs at Elm Playlot.
2020
In 2020, Pogo Park secured an $8.5 million Prop 68 grant from the State of California to design and build Phase II of Harbour-8 Park. We worked on the final designs for the Yellow Brick Road. When COVID-19 closed Elm Playlot, we reinvested in the park’s infrastructure and in our team’s training and capacity.
2019
In 2019, Pogo Park designed and built the Harbour-8 Improvement Project which included an entry archway, brick wall, Calming Circle, bioswale, and Mini Play Field. This Project was Phase I of Harbour-8 Park’s development and renovation.
2018
In 2018, Pogo Park expanded our growing list of programs at Elm Playlot. We partnered with The Conservation Fund to acquire critical parcels of land next to Harbour-8 Park. We kicked off a multi-year research project with UC Berkeley to study the impacts of Elm Playlot on community health and well-being.
2017
In 2017, Pogo Park was recognized with a “Community Leadership Award” from the San Francisco Foundation, and was featured among other outstanding parks around the world in “The Field Guide for Parks and Creative Placemaking.”
2016
In 2016, Pogo Park was named an exemplary model by the State of California for its ability to engage the community in grassroots projects. The State Park’s Department is funding a research project to study the multiple impacts of Elm Playlot on community well being. Pogo Park partnered with The Conservation Fund to acquire 17,500 square feet of land adjacent to Harbour-8.
2015
In 2015, Pogo Park staffed Elm Playlot with members of the CDT in order to serve thousands of children who live within walking distance. Pogo Park also wrote a winning $6.4 million grant on behalf of the City of Richmond to build the first leg of the “Yellow Brick Road” – a project to build a safe walk-bike street through the heart of the neighborhood.
2014
In 2014, Pogo Park completed its major renovation of Elm Playlot. The new park includes a community center with a kitchen, bathrooms; zip-line, disc swings and a “Global Village” of child-sized houses; a separate tot-lot for toddlers; the “chill zone” where children participate in arts and crafts, play chess, or build with blocks.
2013
In 2013, Pogo Park partnered with the Trust for Public Land and the city of Richmond to transform an abandoned, two-block section of the Richmond Greenway into our second “Pogo Park” – Harbour-8 Park.
2012
In 2012, Pogo Park takes possession of the house at 720 Elm and discovers that the 700 square foot home has historical significance. The team meets with local architect and restoration experts to reimagine this house in the framework of a park office and community center, and bring out its long lost historical features. Adding a house to Elm Playlot location changes the design plan for the park, and so the design has to be recreated.
2011
In 2011, while waiting to secure the permits to begin construction, Pogo Park built a “Pop-Up Park” at Elm Playlot. The Pogo Up Parks was comprised of temporary play structures (a sandbox, hillside slide, stage, and “Global Village” of child-sized houses) and offered free play programming for local children on a drop-in basis. The Pop-Up Park was a hit.
2010
In 2010, Pogo Park partnered with MIG, a Berkeley-based design firm, and the city of Richmond to secure a $1.94 million capital grant from the State of California Parks Department to rebuild Elm Playlot based on the community’s design.
2009
In 2009, Pogo Park and the CDT created a community-generated design for Elm Playlot.
2008
In 2008, Pogo Park focused its efforts on transforming Elm Playlot, a half-acre “pocket park” that lies in the heart of the Iron Triangle. To re-imagine and rebuild Elm Playlot, Pogo Park recruited, hired, trained, and empowered a 10-person community resident team to plan, design, build, and manage Elm Playlot themselves.
2007
In 2007, Pogo Park was founded on a $19 desk from IKEA. Founder Toody Maher visited 56 parks in Richmond, CA before landing on Elm Playlot in the Iron Triangle. Pogo Park obtained a fiscal sponsor and raised $30,000 from three investors, which was matched by the City of Richmond.
