Published on October 21, 2026, 8:00 a.m. PT
Written by Sheyanne N Romero with Visalia Times Delta
Visalia Breaks Ground on First New Park in 12 Years
The community is invited to celebrate the groundbreaking of a new four-acre neighborhood park at 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 23 in southwest Visalia.
The park will serve the surrounding community and help meet the recreational needs of the 225 new single-family homes planned for the area, city staff said. The park is located on the southwest corner of Roeben Street and Howard Avenue.
It is the first city park to be constructed in the last decade.
“We invite everyone to join us for this special occasion,” Parks & Recreation Director Jason Glick said. “We’re excited to begin construction on our first neighborhood park in 12 years. It will be a historic day.”
The new park is part of the city’s ongoing efforts to implement the Visalia 2030 General Plan, which identified the development and maintenance of neighborhood parks as a community priority, city staff said.
“The park’s design was shaped through extensive community input. From the beginning, this project has been guided by Visalia residents,” Glick said. “We held multiple public meetings to better understand the community’s needs, and residents stepped up by providing feedback and voting on the amenities they wanted to see.”
Through those public meetings, residents shared their preferred amenities, helping guide the development of three conceptual design options. Following the community engagement process, city staff recommended Conceptual Design No. 3 to the Visalia City Council, which approved moving the project forward.
The park will feature a variety of amenities designed to promote recreation, fitness and community gathering, including:
- A pump track
- A mini pitch
- A passive play area
- A lighted walking path
- Cornhole courts
- Horseshoe pits
- A fitness course
- A traditional playground
The park is estimated to open toward the end of 2027 or early 2028, city staff said.
