Wilmington Town Square Awarded Best Recreational or Athletic Facility

The American Public Works Association (APWA), Southern California Chapter chose the Wilmington Town Square project as its Best Regional Recreational and Athletic Facility project of 2020.

The Wilmington Town Square project was created to renovate and revitalize an existing, underutilized park in the LA port community of Wilmington. Prior to its renovation, this underused park was felt by the community to be unsafe. It had little to offer, and most considered it an undesirable place. Located in the heart of the Avalon commercial district, transforming the space into a thriving town square and central community gathering place made sense.

This $1,871,770 project was made possible due to the leadership of the Office of Councilmember Joe Buscaino, Los Angeles City Council District 15, who partnered with LANI to oversee the community engagement, design, and construction of the project. The project was funded with Community Development Block Grant funds from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. In addition, a local corporation, Marathon Petroleum gave $1 million to the project, and LANI secured a $50,000 grant from Wells Fargo to help support the project. Partners on the project incuded Lewis Schoeplein Architects, Landscape Support Services, and Berg & Associates. LANI also worked closely with the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks throughout the permitting and approval process. LANI's Program Manager, Monica Carlos, facilitated the extensive community engagement that resulted in this beautiful community space.

Wilmington Town Square improvements included beautiful trees in additional the existing majestic palms, planters with landscaping, irrigation, electrical and lighting, benches, tables and chairs, a monument sign, drinking fountain, bike racks, and a flag pole. This project also includes a beautiful mural and the creation of community arches along with a stage area. This element evolved from the community's desire to create a kiosko, reminiscent of town squares around the world. The end result came from the designer's creativity to reflect community vision but be flexible with a limited budget.

The collaborative teamwork of LANI, the Office of Council District 15, Berg & Associates, L/S Architects and Landscape Support Services, along with the community’s Project Steering Committee, has made an immense impact on this underutilized park, and the results of this transformed public space will benefit the entire community of Wilmington for generations to come.