Fremont Park upgrades in play

The final design of a renovation project at Fremont Park is getting underway following City Council’s approval on Tuesday.

With a 5-0 vote, council members agreed to give Costa Mesa-based David Volz Landscape Architects Inc. a $918,000 contract to create with the project’s final look over the next 12 months.

Fremont is one of Glendale’s oldest parks, and city staffers held several meetings in recent years to gather input from the public about what new amenities or upgrades they’d like to see at the open space.

A master plan was adopted by the council last year, and it stated the park will be getting a new community building with meeting rooms, restrooms, a kitchenette and rentable space.

There will also be a new walking path, shade structures for eight existing tennis courts, exercise equipment, barbecues, picnic tables and a splash pad. Also, the natural-grass soccer field will be replaced with artificial turf.

“Natural turf is always better, but maintaining it is a huge issue,” said Councilman Vartan Gharpetian in a phone interview. “That’s why everyone is going toward artificial turf.”

A large number of pickleball fans made their case to park employees and, in response, the existing tennis courts on site will be modified to allow for the popular sport, which blends Ping-Pong, tennis and Wiffle ball.

Once a final design is approved by council members, construction on the park renovation will likely get underway in about 16 months.

The entire project will run upward of $12 million or more, said Roubik Golanian, the city’s public works director.

A little more than $4 million will come from development-impact fees, which are fees paid for by developers of downtown Glendale projects, he said.

Golanian added that Fremont Park’s upgrade will be the first in its history and will likely be done in phases, but he said he wasn’t sure yet in which order the amenities would be built.

“That will be hashed out in the design phase,” he said.