Plans for a new public park on Navy Pier that will fulfill a pledge made decades ago by the USS Midway Museum received a major boost Thursday with the announcement of a $10 million donation from the McGrath Family Foundation.
In honor of what is the largest donation yet for the increasingly costly project known as Freedom Park, the new public amenity will now be called McGrath Freedom Park at Burnham Navy Pier. What was at one time expected to cost $42 million, the park now has a price tag of $77 million — having jumped to $65 million just two years ago.
The USS Midway, which is in the midst of an ambitious fundraising effort, so far has $57 million in commitments, including a nearly $12 million contribution from the Port of San Diego, plus money from multiple donors large and small. The museum is also contributing. Still to be raised is about $20 million, according to USS Midway Museum spokesperson David Koontz.
The McGrath Freedom Park at Burnham Navy Pier being built next to the USS Midway on August 13, 2026, in San Diego, CA. (Brandon Pollard / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The McGrath foundation’s donation has its roots in the family’s long history of philanthropy. Co-founded by businesswoman Laurie McGrath and her mother Carlee McGrath, the San Diego-based foundation has supported numerous causes benefiting children, women and animals. More recently, it has made major donations to UC San Diego Health and Sharp HealthCare.
But the donation to Freedom Park is especially personal. Laurie McGrath’s late father, C.W. McGrath, served during World War II on the San Diego Bay waterfront as part of the Navy’s harbor operations within the Eleventh Naval District. Following his military service, he eventually became known as one of Southern California’s largest engineering contractors during the 1970s and the 80s.
“I know my father is looking down with pride as we recognize his accomplishments and many contributions he made to the growth and vitality of San Diego’s economy,” McGrath said in a news conference held at the USS Midway to make the announcement. “It’s with heartfelt joy that I’m able to be part of this project, which honors his memory and brings the story full circle from his Navy roots to the enduring legacy he left here in San Diego.”
The redevelopment of Navy Pier, which is now mostly a parking lot, into Freedom Park calls for large lawn areas, a native plants garden, a “Parade of Veterans” amphitheater, interactive play structures, and a 32-foot-wide promenade on the pier’s northern edge. There will also be seating, along with a small area devoted to the history of the pier, the Midway and San Diego Bay.
A rendering of the east end of the planned Freedom Park alongside the USS Midway Museum. (USS Midway)
While the park is described as 10 acres, the new portion is about 5.7 acres, which includes the various park features, plus parking, Midway ticket booths and other buildings and kiosks used for the museum. Once complete — in 2028 — Freedom Park will extend from the west end of Navy Pier, around the Midway, to the Bob Hope Memorial.
It is expected to be the largest public park on the West Coast that honors veterans and their families.
“This park will provide a place where people can reflect on the courage and sacrifice and the enduring legacy of the men and women who have served in the United States,” said Port CEO Scott Chadwick. “The new park will beautifully outline public parks, plazas, restaurants, public art, and more that the Port and our various public and private partners have delivered to the area. We’re also really excited about the potential for a larger Navy SEAL Museum located directly across the street, which would further honor and represent our military’s history and traditions.”
The requirement for a park was imposed more than 20 years ago by the California Coastal Commission to make up for the visual impacts and view blockages caused by the behemoth USS Midway. As recently as 2019, the Coastal Commission said the port violated the California Coastal Act by continuing to allow parking on the pier. Two years earlier, it gave the port and the Midway a reprieve as long as they put in a 7,840-square-foot public viewing deck on the pier and some pedestrian walkways. The improvements, though, never happened.
The current project began in earnest in early 2024 when port commissioners approved a contract to demolish a long-vacant building on the Navy Pier — a critical first step before the Midway can break ground on the actual park development, expected to occur by early next year. The port’s responsibility was to repair and reinforce more than 250 aging piles under the pier. That work has been completed.
“You know, we started out with a $77 million campaign to rehab the pier and build this beautiful veterans park, and we’ve got tremendous momentum,” said former San Diego City Manager Jack McGrory, who is co-chairing the fundraising campaign with developer Tom Sudberry, a naval aviator during the Vietnam War. And Laurie’s gift is really transformational. We’ve struggled to get bits and pieces of this, but to get this large gift … we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
McGrory said that after the McGrath Foundation’s contribution, the next largest is a $5 million donation from him and Sudberry together.