Ruocco Park Design Moves Forward, Next Steps Include Approval by the Board of Port Commissioners

Contact: Contact: Marguerite Elicone (619) 686-6222

Quiet, contemplative areas, a variety of trees, a water feature that will conserve water and energy, and an open space for events or recreational activities – these are elements included in the design concept for a new waterfront park to be located just north of Seaport Village.

Ruocco Park will be a 3.3 acre urban oasis on a site bordered by Harbor Drive and Pacific Highway. The location was once the home of a long-shuttered seafood restaurant and market, now scheduled to be demolished. The empty buildings and yards of concrete will be replaced by grass, trees, water-wise landscaping and public art.

The Port of San Diego held its third public meeting on the park’s design on November 2, 2009. At the meeting, the public was able to see how their suggestions were incorporated. Dennis Otsuji, the park’s landscape architect, presented new renderings which depicted many of the suggestions made by the public at two previous public meetings.

Now that the revised design has been presented to the public, the next steps include presenting it to the Board of Port Commissioners for approval on December 1, 2009. After that, a fourth public meeting will be held in early 2010, where the public art concept for the park will be presented. The Board of Port Commissioners will then be asked to approve a Coastal Development Permit for the park sometime in the summer of 2010. If that moves forward, then construction can begin in early 2011. Construction of the park should take about one year.

The park gets its name from its benefactors, Lloyd and Ilse Ruocco, who generously provided a $3.5 million grant for its creation. Lloyd was a prominent San Diego architect, credited with working on local iconic structures such as the County Administration Building, the San Diego Civic Theater and the San Diego Design Center. His wife, Ilse, was a noted interior designer and a professor at San Diego State University.

The Ruoccos established a trust more than 25 years ago to create a public park in San Diego that would feature outstanding urban design. The trust is administered by the San Diego Foundation, which awarded the $3.5 million grant to the Port in November 2008.

The Port already had plans for a park next to the former Old Police Headquarters as part of its 1998 South Embarcadero Redevelopment Program. Money to build it was allocated in the Port’s 2009-2013 Capital Development Program. Developing the park would require the partial demolition of the former Harbor Seafood Mart building, which is estimated to cost $1 million.

Money from the Ruocco donation will not be used for the demolition and the Port will use its Capital Development funds for the basic park. The Ruocco donation will provide design and upgrades such as water features, garden areas, upgraded hardscape, benches and lighting.

(Learn more about the Port of San Diego's bayfront parks.)

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