By Brian CHERNICK

Residents of Glendale had two opportunities last week to join city planners and members from the Sausalito-based urban design firm SWA at community meetings that included a presentation and conversation on the future design of the city’s Central Park.

Dubbed the Central Park Campus, the proposed open space would be located adjacent to the proposed future site Armenian American Museum that was approved by Glendale City Council in 2016. Current designs have set aside about 34,000 square feet of the southwest portion of the current open space to accommodate the new museum.

“The goal in terms of open space is to make sure that you still have the same amount of open space even with the museum,” SWA’s chief executive Gerdo Aquino said during a brief presentation on Thursday, Jan. 18.

The proposal estimates an increase of nearly 20,000 square feet – or 92,500 in total – for a redesigned park by conjoining the main open space with the northeast 13,000-square-foot parcel by way of an open paseo. The adult recreational center and newly redesigned library are to remain in their current form, though much of the proposed additional open space comes at a cost: a reduction in parking typically reserved for library and recreation center patrons.

The meetings’ format encouraged the estimated 250 residents, business owners and stakeholders who attended to engage in smaller focus groups – or interactive stations – to share information and provide feedback on the new design. While a number of attendees expressed excitement with the project and the location of the park being more central and away from the street, others shared concerns about traffic and the size of the museum that would cannibalize part of potential open spaces.

Mark Berry, the city’s principal development officer who managed one of the four interactive stations, fielded questions and commented on the potential design of the museum, stating that a portion of the space allocated for the building would be flat walking space and compared it to the front of city hall.

More information on the park design and the meetings’ presentations can be found at http://www.glendaleca.gov/government/departments/community-development/central-park.

  Brian CHERNICK