Platt-Whitelaw Architects

Park de la Cruz

A Post-Occupancy Survey of Park de la Cruz Neighborhood Park & Therapeutic Recreation Services

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Architectural Design to Transform a YMCA Building into a Recreation Destination for all Ages and Abilities. 

Several years ago, we were honored to transform a 25,000-square-foot YMCA building into a City of San Diego facility accommodating therapeutic recreation services (TRS) for the City Heights neighborhood and its surrounding communities.

In so doing, San Diego became one of the first cities nationwide with a dedicated and customized city TRS destination offering services and activities for community members with disabilities and special needs.

Recently, Sandra Gramley, AIA, returned to Park de la Cruz Neighborhood Park and TRS to reconnect with Kristi Fenick, CTRS, the District Manager of San Diego Parks and Recreation Department, Therapeutic Recreation and Agewell Services. Sandra wanted to know how the facility had evolved, how it was performing and what lessons could be learned for future projects.

Post-Occupancy Survey

We’re happy to report the facility is looking great. Sandra loved seeing that staff added gallery hangers to some of the walls to display work from students who attend the facility’s classes.

Acoustics are always tough in exercise facilities (and when adapting existing buildings), but the perforated gypsum board we specified for the hallways is doing a great job at absorbing sound.

Since many of the existing building’s interior rooms were dark, our team selected tubular skylights to bring natural daylight into lower spaces. Sandra’s visit also allowed her to verify the lighting strategy implemented works well now that the building is fully operational. The facility first opened at the start of the pandemic, which limited occupancy.

A key element of the TRS, Sandra got to tour the sensory room, which is outfitted with light fixtures, interactive toys, a swing and more. We designed the sensory room to give an immersive sensory experience for people with various abilities and to support emotional and cognitive development.

Grant-Funded Community Facility

Park de la Cruz Neighborhood Park and TRS was a project that grew gradually, and our services grew along with it. The initial project budget was just enough for paint and flooring, but the City kept pursuing and securing grant funding. Accordingly, our scope of work increased incrementally. Despite the ladder-stepping structure, the design and construction program appear seamless when you tour the building.

What does Sandy wish we could still do? It’s the same wish Kristi has – to create a party room. The demand is there, as well as rental opportunities, but it wasn’t possible to provide it in the existing building framework or budget.

Our team and theirs recognizes that we could turn an old, unused pool that’s currently being used for storage into a dance hall and party room. However, the City would need to come up with millions more in funding to support the construction costs, which is no small task.

Program Garden

Soon after Sandra’s tour, the City hosted an event to debut and celebrate a garden at Park de la Cruz. Sandra wouldn’t have missed it.

This garden doesn’t just sit there and look pretty, it has work to do! It’s a program garden.

The garden supports classes, clubs and kitchens. In addition to supplying the on-site commercial and teaching kitchens, the garden is used by the Green Thumb Club, Yummy Meals on a Budget class, Let’s Get Cooking class and more.

Community Engagement

The well-attended garden debut featured lots of fun activities like sing-alongs, pickle ball, bingo, corn hole and line dancing. A color-by-numbers art mural was very popular, with kids and adults painting designated portions within the butterfly outline created by a local artist.

Park de la Cruz Neighborhood Park and TRS is an asset to the community – from kids to seniors. In a San Diego neighborhood that’s been historically underserved with public resources, seniors-in-need can now visit Park de la Cruz for free lunch five days a week. It’s also a place where people of all ages and abilities have access to a wide array of programs and activities.

We’re proud to support the City in its mission to provide these services in a safe place.

Learn more about the TRS activities and resources available for winter 2023-2024 here.

PWA Project Profile: Park de la Cruz Neighborhood Park & Therapeutic Recreation Services

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By Sandra Gramley, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C

Civic projects are the crux of what we do. Designing Park de la Cruz Neighborhood Park & Therapeutic Recreation Services (TRS) in City Heights was especially rewarding for us because we were truly designing for universal use.

The intention of our client, the City of San Diego, was to transform the decaying former Copley YMCA building and gymnasium into a new TRS facility. As such, the project has traditional accommodations but also those for wheelchair basketball, indoor soccer and a calendar full of special events and activities. Accessibility upgrades were a specific priority for the entire project.

Beyond ADA and other code requirements, the entire renovation was designed for the community to be able to easily access and use all the facilities. San Diego is now one of only a few cities nationwide that has a dedicated facility for TRS services. The TRS facility at Park de la Cruz is able to offer services and activities for those with disabilities and special needs within the community, along with helping veterans and seniors throughout San Diego County.

In addition to designing something for all abilities, the renovation also has a social justice component. This project enhances and encourages recreation and provides much needed services to the mid-city community of San Diego—a community historically left behind when it came to new and upgraded parks.

Our design even includes a daycare space, providing the opportunity to address a frequent barrier to employment – the availability of childcare. The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, emphasized the prominence and importance of Park de la Cruz when he held a news conference there in April about a new pop-up vaccination site in the City Heights neighborhood.

The design and implementation of the buildings’ renovation was preceded by a renovation of the adjoining seven-acre park, led by Schmidt Design Group in conjunction with Stantec. Features include a new skate park, a softball field and an outdoor multipurpose basketball court. Additional amenities added were picnic shelters, accent trees, sports lighting, solar canopy, drinking fountains, accessibility for persons with disabilities and path of travel improvements.

Our renovation of the 24,000-square foot TRS facility included offices and conference rooms for the staff, a commercial kitchen and a training kitchen, and outdoor and indoor areas for exercise and activities. Also integrated are rooms specifically for those with special needs and a variety of multi-purpose rooms for games, daycare, special events and dances, as well as for rentable space.

Gymnasium improvements include large insulated translucent windows with removable colored polycarbonate panels, fiberglass-sandwich-panel unit skylights, renovated restrooms and offices, new roofing, and new finishes, along with added air-conditioning and lighting improvements.

Earlier this year, Park de la Cruz earned an award from the American Public Works Association (APWA). We’re grateful for the chance to contribute to this terrific community resource that will serve San Diegans for generations to come.