Plaza Unifies Balboa Park Station Area
This fall we’re starting construction on the finishing touch of the Balboa Park Station Area Plan – Unity Plaza will be constructed over a 210-by-65-foot public open space next to Muni’s City College Terminal on Ocean Avenue.
Join us tomorrow evening for a community meeting to showcase the final design of the Unity Plaza and share information on the approaching construction. The meeting will be held from 6 -7 p.m. at the 1100 Ocean Avenue Mercy Housing community room.
Nearly two years ago, the Ocean Avenue community came together to name the new plaza that will sit next to 1100 Ocean Avenue. When the final name was announced last July, Maria Picar, Director of Oceanview Merced Ingleside Cultural Participation Project, said that the name “Unity Plaza” brings “communities and city leaders together under one roof.”
The Unity Plaza, named through a partnership with the community, will be west of the City College Terminal on Ocean Avenue. The fully-accessible plaza will be landscaped with trees and plants, and include benches, pedestrian lighting, special artistic pavement, a domed play structure and photographic displays depicting the history of the area.
It’s been six years since the Balboa Park Station Area Plan was first adopted by the city – the culmination of a 10-year Better Neighborhoods Planning Process. The development of a new plaza was specifically identified as a goal to create a variety of new public open spaces. The outcome, Unity Plaza, is scheduled to begin construction this September, commemorating the finishing touch from what was first envisioned in the plan.
The space will serve as a hub connecting businesses, residents, schools, City College and Muni routes in the area. These include the 8X/8BX, 49, 29, 43 and K Ingleside. The plaza could also host community events such as street fairs and farmers’ markets.
The community leaders who planned this new space envisioned a plaza to bring people from different segments of the community together, connecting them to City College and being known as an iconic, attractive, comfortable and safe meeting place in addition to an enduring and lasting presence in the community.
Other key components of the Balboa Park Station Area Plan include the reconfiguration of the Phelan Bus Loop (completed in 2013) and the construction of the 1100 Ocean Avenue Apartments (completed in early 2015). The completion of the Unity Plaza will ultimately accomplish the vision of the plan.
