Gateway park starting to take shape

Noaki Schwartz

NEWPORT BEACH -- When Jim Thompson saw all the signs of

construction disrupting traffic on Newport Boulevard and Via Lido last

week, he thought, unlike most people, “Great! Finally!”

More than three years ago, Thompson led a campaign to raise $300,000

to purchase the site at 3531 Newport Blvd., and an additional $100,000 to

turn the overgrown, empty lot into a park.

By mid-December, that park will be planted, said City Engineer Bill

Patapoff.

The site had formerly been a Chevron gas station and, once it was

abandoned, became an eyesore.

But Thompson envisioned a place “bordered by tall palms and lower

shrubbery,” he said. “A green lush look instead of asphalt.”

He hit upon the idea of buying the property and then donating the site

to the city as a “passive park” to use as an attractive entryway to the

Balboa Peninsula.

The soil underneath the former gas station was found to be

contaminated, but the problem eventually was remedied.

In the summer of 1996, the City Council approved the park idea and

agreed to pay the annual $1,200 for maintenance. Thompson then undertook

the lengthy task of fund-raising.

“It was the work of a 15-person committee,” Thompson said. “Everybody

that gave in excess of $100 got a brick with their or their family’s

name.” Local businesses and residents donated all they could and now,

several years later, will finally see all their efforts come to fruition.

“It’s going to be a nice entry statement.”

“I think it’s a wonderful project,” said Sharon Wood, assistant city

manager.

The park will include a mixture of shrubs, trees and other plants,

Patapoff added. There also will be a wall with donors’ names and a sign

to welcome people to the peninsula.

Once finished, the 8,000-square-foot Gateway to Newport’s Balboa

Peninsula Park will not be for residents to stroll through but more to

beautify the city, he said.

“We worked really hard on this,” Thompson said.