Athletic Field at Castro Park Closed for Renovation

Announcement, photo submitted by City of El Cerrito:

The City of El Cerrito temporarily closed the athletic field at Castro Park to prepare for construction to began on the field renovation. Construction work on the athletic field at Castro Park is expected to continue until early August. In order to establish the newly installed turf, the field will remain closed until early September, 2015.

Castro Park’s field is a highly used, natural turf athletic field. The project will fully renovate the field. During the next eight weeks, the contractor will:

• break up and amend the clay soils to facilitate deeper root growth and drainage throughout the outfield
• grade the turf area to provide a more level play area and to facilitate better drainage
• renovate the existing, out-dated irrigation system to be more water efficient
• install living turf sod throughout the outfield and on the sidelines and a new warning track to demarcate the edge of the field, and
• replace unused turf areas on slopes with bark mulch

The field will remain closed to the public until early September in order to establish the newly installed turf. The closure is in effect 24 hours a day, on both weekdays and weekends.

The playground area at Castro Park will remain open to the public and can be accessed via the entrance near the clubhouse on Norvell Street. The tennis courts and BBQ area on Lawrence Street will also remain open.

Renovation of the Castro Park field is a joint effort by the West Contra Costa Unified School District and the City. Castro Park is adjacent to Fred T. Korematsu Middle School, (currently under construction) at 7125 Donal Avenue in El Cerrito.

Due to the age of the field, poor drainage, increasing usage by athletic leagues, as well as impacts related to the construction of Korematsu Middle School and the District’s future plans to use the field beginning in January 2016, the City and District both determined renovation of the athletic field was necessary. The District funded $200,000 for design and construction services. The City is managing the construction work and will continue to be responsible for maintenance of the field in the future.

For more information about the construction project, please contact the City of El Cerrito Public Works Department at 510-215-4382. Information is also online at http://www.el-cerrito.org/index.aspx?NID=933