Huntington Beach City Council approves construction projects at Bluff Top Park and Rodgers Senior Center

The Huntington Beach City Council unanimously approved contracts for two major construction projects during its last meeting of the year on Dec. 21.

The Council green-lighted the Bluff Top Park Trail Improvements Project, accepting a bid by Green Giant Landscape, for nearly $1.9 million. It also accepted a bid of nearly $2.4 million, submitted by Legion Contractors Inc., for a redevelopment project at Rodgers Senior Center.

The Bluff Top Park project began in September and construction of phase one is scheduled to complete next month, Huntington Beach director of public works Sean Crumby said. Phase one includes installing wooden lodge pole fencing along a two-mile stretch of the bluff tops and new metal railing on the staircases.

Phase two of the project, which Green Giant won the bid for, includes widening and resurfacing of the asphalt pathway and trail.

“This will create separate areas for the pedestrians, versus the traffic that travels at higher speeds,” Crumby said. “It’s something that we’ve needed.”

Phase two also includes construction of a concrete sidewalk between 11th Street and Goldenwest Street, and landscaping improvements throughout.

Construction is expected to take place from February until May.

The Rodgers Senior Center redevelopment will remove the old senior center recreation building, located near 17th Street and Orange Avenue in downtown Huntington Beach, to be replaced by a 13-space parking lot. The current larger parking lot would be removed, and a new park created.

The project also includes renovating the outside and inside of the existing outreach building at the property, which will remain and be used by American Legion Huntington Beach Post 133.

Resident Chris Varga, who lives nearby on 18th Street, noted in an email to the City Council that the newer senior center in Central Park was approved for creation after the passage of Measure T in 2006, with the Rodgers site returned to a park space.

“With this approval we will hopefully in short order have a groundbreaking ceremony for this park once again,” Varga wrote. “Looking forward to that day. Please approve this contract and make it happen for this park-starved section of downtown Huntington Beach.”

Councilman Erik Peterson said that while he was happy that the American Legion had a home again, he wanted to make sure that a photo record was kept of the building being demolished.

“A lot of people don’t understand that the building we’re tearing down is a veteran of its own,” Peterson said. “Every pilot that went to World War II went through that building in Santa Ana, and the city bought it and brought it here.”

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