Sweetwater Park is Now Open on the Chula Vista Bayfront

The Port of San Diego, the City of Chula Vista, and the Community Celebrate with a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

Park photos and b-roll: https://bit.ly/42r5TN2

The Port of San Diego and the City of Chula Vista along with project partners and community members today celebrated the opening of Sweetwater Park on the Chula Vista Bayfront. It's the Port's 23rd park and the first new park completed as part of the Chula Vista Bayfront redevelopment project. With 39 acres of new public recreational space, it is now the Port's largest park. Its unique features encourage passive and natural habitat-oriented recreational activities to complement the adjacent Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife Refuge.

"Sweetwater Park provides access to a unique and historic area for all residents and visitors of the bayfront," said Chair Danielle Moore, Port of San Diego Board of Port Commissioners. "We can't wait for the community to come explore and experience this open space. Every element and feature of this park is designed to highlight the natural habitat, and to provide access to, and appreciation of this land."

"The new Sweetwater Park is a significant project in creating a Chula Vista Bayfront for the people," said Chula Vista Mayor John McCann. "We are grateful for the partnership with the Port of San Diego and for the collaboration of the community in implementing Chula Vista's master bayfront plan that will allow residents and visitors substantial access to enjoy our national wildlife habitat."

"Sweetwater Park opened ahead of the Gaylord Pacific to show that public access and economic development go hand in hand," said Vice Chair Ann Moore, Chula Vista's appointee to the Board of Port Commissioners. "Projects like Gaylord help make parks like this possible - creating a new space to connect with the best of nature while protecting our wildlife habitat and coastal resources. It's a reflection of the shared vision of the Port, the City of Chula Vista, and our community - and it's just the beginning."

The design of Sweetwater Park is a result of collaborative outreach and engagement with the community. KTUA led the design effort for Sweetwater Park in collaboration with the Port. Landscape architecture firm KTUA was selected for their extensive urban park and waterfront design expertise - with an emphasis on local landscape architecture and natural resource management experience.

Sweetwater Park is just north of the Gaylord Pacific Resort and Convention Center, currently under construction and set to open in May. Features include:

• Nature playgrounds
• Various seating and picnic areas
• 2 ½ total miles of pedestrian walkways and bicycle paths, some paved and others with softer surfaces
• Sand dunes and mounded grasslands
• Meadows and specialty gardens with native plants, shrubs, and groundcover. Some of these native plants serve as ecological buffers and mitigation areas to protect sensitive wildlife habitats, particularly at the Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife Refuge.
• Overlooks for bayfront viewing, bird watching, and more
• Incorporation of Kumeyaay signage
• Rigors of Flight, a public art installation by Roberto Salas. This 25-foot-tall sculpture of a furcula, or wishbone, is a tribute to the flight of birds in the area.
• Public restrooms and 219 parking spaces

The park is next to the Sweetwater Bicycle and Pedestrian Path that opened in the spring of 2021.

The total cost for Sweetwater Park, including design and construction support, is just under $20 million, part of which was funded by the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Program (ORLP) through the National Park Service and the California Department of Parks and Recreation. Additional project partners include the State Lands Commission, County of San Diego, RIDA Chula Vista, LLC., and Pacifica Companies. The Board of Port Commissioners awarded a construction contract to 3D Enterprises in April 2023.

A partnership between the Port of San Diego and City of Chula Vista, the 535-acre Chula Vista Bayfront redevelopment envisions a world-class destination in the South Bay - a unique place for people to live, work and play. It is designed to create new public parks and recreational adventures, improve the natural habitat, offer new dining and shopping options, provide a world-class hotel and convention center, and more - all for residents and coastal visitors to enjoy. For more information about the Chula Vista Bayfront, visit portofsandiego.org/chulavistabayfront.