By Christina Merino – 11/10/25
City leaders held a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, Nov. 10, to commemorate the beginning of construction on the 51st Street Greenbelt Project — which will bring more green space to North Long Beach.
The 51st Street Greenbelt park will be located along DeForest Avenue, between West 51st and West 52nd streets, north of Del Amo Boulevard and east of the Los Angeles River. The project will transform about 1 acre of undeveloped land along the L.A. River into a vibrant, accessible green space, city officials said.
This project, officials added, will also increase equitable access to outdoor recreation, improve community health, and help mitigate the effects of climate change in an area disproportionately impacted by pollution and environmental hazards.
“I can’t say how proud I am as a North Long Beach resident to see this project move forward,” Mayor Rex Richardson said. “This was an underutilized piece of land and now we’re going to turn it into a place for memories to take place, and for folks to engage with nature.”
The new park will include pedestrian trails, a cycle track, fitness stations, play structures, shade seating, parking that’s compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and drinking fountains. Green infrastructure, including bioswales and sustainable landscaping, will also be incorporated to help reduce polluted water runoff, mitigate urban heat and support local ecological health.
“When I look around at my neighbors that are here, I know that they’re excited and thinking about not only the space, but the value that green space adds to (the) community,” said Eighth District Councilmember Tunua Thrash-Ntuk. “We’re going to transform this lot together into a place of opportunity, play and connection.”
The North Long Beach community’s input played a key role in shaping the park’s design.
In 2018, for example, the Parks, Recreation and Marine, and Health and Human Services departments hosted a public pop-up event on Earth Day to get community input for improvements to the undeveloped area. Residents said they wanted to see active and passive uses for the park and also wanted to use it as a connection to the L.A. River bicycle path, according to city officials.
The city subsequently began applying for grants and, in 2020, received money through the Port of Long Beach’s Community Grants Program, allowing the park design for the project to start in 2021.
During that phase, the city engaged with neighborhood associations and Council District 8 – which was under former Councilmember Al Austin’s leadership at the time – to gather feedback to inform more specific design elements residents would be interested in at the park, Long Beach officials said.
“This has been a long time coming, but we’re here. We made it and we’re all excited,” said Stephen Scott, acting director of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine. “We all know that parks are vital to a community’s physical, mental and environmental health, and any time that we can add additional space, it is a wonderful opportunity.”
The 51st Street Greenbelt Project is part of Long Beach’s Elevate ‘28 Infrastructure Investment Plan, an initiative dedicated to enhancing city parks, community facilities, mobility access and streets ahead of the 2028 Olympics.
The project is expected to cost about $6 million, officials said. Long Beach tapped into several funding sources to make the new park possible.
Besides the $999,000 from the port, the city also received $2 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Project Funding program, which Rep. Nanette Barragán helped secure in 2022, and $2 million from the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy. The city is also using $1 million from Long Beach’s Construction and Demolition Recycling Program, and $400,000 in Measure A funds.
“Access to parks, open space and outdoor recreation is critical to the health and the well-being of our communities,” Barragán said. “This is an issue that’s been near and dear for me since I got to Congress and seeing how we can create more open spaces.
“When I was a kid, I didn’t have a park nearby,” Barragán added.
“I had to get on a bus to go play Little League,” she added, “and so for me, it’s about investing in community. It’s investing in making sure they have green open space to go to in the neighborhoods, especially those that have limited access to parks and open spaces.”
Construction has begun, and, officials said, the park is anticipated to be completed in late 2026.