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Click here to read entire press release

By Mike Aldax

Richmond, CA, October 9, 2020 The pathway to a major expansion and enhancement of Harbour-8 Park on the Richmond Greenway has been cleared after land adjacent to the park was transferred this week to the City of Richmond and Pogo Park.

The Conservation Fund, a national nonprofit, acquired the property in 2016 with a loan from the David & Lucile Packard Foundation and held the site until funding was available from a Prop 68 parks grant awarded earlier this year. In two simultaneous transactions this week, The Conservation Fund completed the land transfers.

The $8.5 million park enhancement project will employ about 150 residents and fund construction of a community center, children’s play area, two entry gateways, two ziplines, a bbq/picnic area, public art, security cameras, lighting and a restroom, according to Pogo Park.

“The addition of a small but important adjacent lot will expand the linear park by 50 percent and enable the development of commercial activities and the creation of a vibrant, green, public square in the heart of the Iron Triangle Neighborhood,” according to a statement by The Conservation Fund.

The Contra Costa Health Department’s recent order dated September 4, 2020 mandates that playgrounds in city parks must be closed for use. However, they do allow the public to use picnic and bbq areas in city parks.

Pogo Park is following these orders.

To help prevent the spread of coronavirus by children playing on the same play structures, we put caution tape around Elm Playlot’s (Pogo Park #1) Zip Line, Global Village of playhouses, and Disc Swings. Still, Elm Playlot is open to the public – provided people stay at least 6 feet from others.

During COVID, we see community residents come to Elm Playlot every day to walk multiple times around the trike path for exercise. Families bring their children to the park – the only safe, green space in this community – to run around and play tag. Others come to sit in the garden by the mountain stream to listen to the sound of gurgling water, watch the world go by, or read a book. Elm Playlot’s community garden is thriving: more and more people are coming to harvest peppers, red chard, kale, collard greens, cilantro, Italian parsley, lemons, persimmons, and cucumber.

The Pogo Park staff continue to watch over Elm Playlot on a daily basis, rake the leaves, clean the park and surrounding streets, and disinfect the entry gates, benches, and picnic tables. Our goal: to ensure that, even during COVID, thousands of Iron Triangle residents continue to have access to a beautiful green space – and a place to connect with the natural world – in their own neighborhood. Being in a natural green space helps everyone – children and adults alike – endure the strains that COVID is putting on our daily lives.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Adrian Maher –– adrian@pogopark.org –– (310) 922-3080

Richmond Wins $8.5 Million State Park Grant to Develop Harbour-8 Park.

March 3, 2020: Pogo Park partnered with the City of Richmond and The Conservation Fund to secure a highly competitive $8.5 million Prop 68 parks grant to expand and improve Harbour-8 Park on the Richmond Greenway. The grant funds will make possible a new community center, a children’s play area, two ziplines, a bbq/picnic area, and public art, as well as security cameras, lighting, and a restroom.

According to the State’s website, the Prop 68 park grants are “the largest investment in grant funding history targeted for underserved communities.”

Pogo Park’s Harbour-8 Expansion Project will create an improved park and playground for children to play. The Project will also create jobs and training opportunities for 150 community residents living in one of Richmond’s most under-resourced communities.

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Click here to read the entire Press Release

By Mike Aldax

Richmond, CA February 26, 2020 Two Richmond parks are set to be significantly enhanced via a combined $12.7 million in Prop. 68 grants, the California Department of Parks and Recreation announced on Tuesday.

Of those funds, $8.5 million will be used to continue expansion at Harbour-8 Park located on the Richmond Greenway between Harbour Way and 8th Street. The funds will be used to construct a community center, children’s play area, two entry gateways, two ziplines, a bbq/picnic area, public art, security cameras, lighting and a restroom, according to Pogo Park, the nonprofit staffed by Iron Triangle residents that also built Elm Playlot and Unity Park.

Pogo Park partnered with the City of Richmond and The Conservation Fund to secure the $8.5 million grant.

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Click here to read the full article.

March 31, 2019

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) featured a profile of Pogo Park’s Urban Greening Project: “Greening the Yellow Brick Road” in their annual report. The goal of the profile is to humanize projects on the ground by telling the story of how Cap and Trade dollars are helping real Californians and their communities. The Urban Greening grant is a $4.1 million grant to “green” the Yellow Brick Road – a safe walking and biking street in the Iron Triangle.

Read an abridged version of the report here.

January 24, 2019

The Richmond Standard outlines Pogo Park’s vision for Harbour-8 Park on the Greenway.  In the longer-term, a vast park expansion is envisioned from the Greenway to Ohio Avenue that would not only feature enhanced park amenities, but also a café, market, bike shop, and barber shop. Read the full article by Mike Aldax here.

January 10, 2019

Pogo Park is participating in the 12th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Service on the Richmond Greenway on Monday, January 21.

All are welcome. Read the flyer in English here, or in Spanish here.

January 3, 2019

Pogo Park invites the Richmond community’s input on the improvement of Harbour-8 Park. Visit our Outreach Station on the Richmond Greenway Jan.7-21 to see what’s coming and provide comments or suggestions. All Richmond residents are welcome!

See all details in English here, or in Spanish here.