<\/p>\n
Volunteers build a play structure at West Sacramento\u2019s Bryte Park in 2015.<\/p>\n
Ren\u00e9e C. Byer<\/p>\n
Sacramento Bee file<\/p>\n
A $63 million upgrade for West Sacramento\u2019s Bryte Park cleared its last hurdle this week, marking the largest investment in a public facility in the city\u2019s history for a neighborhood that residents in the area said has been long overlooked.<\/p>\n
West Sacramento\u2019s largest park will now feature soccer and softball fields, a swimming pool, splash pad, aquatics center, a new playground, a dog park and tennis courts, according to the contract. The fields will have both synthetic turf and natural grass.<\/p>\n
\u201cA dream is fulfilled,\u201d said Washington Unified School Board Trustee Vannessa Castro, a lifelong resident of the Bryte and Broderick neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor too long, neighborhoods like Bryte-Broderick have gone without the level of resources and amenities they deserve,\u201d she later added.<\/p>\n
The West Sacramento City Council approved Wednesday a $48 million contract with a construction company and a $15 million federal grant secured by U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui. The Washington Unified School District Board, which owns the land, approved Thursday sharing the amenities with its students while preserving the property for the public under a new agreement.<\/p>\n
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A rendering shows how West Sacramento’s largest park will receive a $63 million upgrade. The renovations for Bryte Park are decades in the making. The city of West Sacramento <\/p>\n
The Sacramento River, residential homes and two schools border Bryte Park. Currently, faint white lines outline soccer fields, dirt lots serve as baseball diamonds and a playground sits under a green awning.<\/p>\n
Rhonda Pope Flores, of the Broderick and Bryte Neighborhood Association, said residents for decades pushed the City Council to invest in West Sacramento\u2019s north area and breathe new life into the park. Some advocates died before their advocacy materialized, she said.<\/p>\n
But Pope Flores said she became a permanent fixture at City Council meetings \u2014 wielding a petition signed by hundreds \u2014 to sway city officials. Years went by with her pleas falling short before West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero and Councilmember Norma Alcala helped shore up support to revamp the park, Pope Flores said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt still doesn\u2019t feel real to me, yet,\u201d she said. \u201cIt will feel real when we see the construction happening.\u201d<\/p>\n
The work is scheduled to begin in June and must be completed within 18 months, according to the city and the contract awarded to Santa Clara-based company Robert A. Bothman Construction.<\/p>\n
Guerrero said the park offers climate-resilient infrastructure and new jobs for the local economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday we are delivering on that vision with one of the most transformative park investments in West Sacramento,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
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