Crown Valley Community Center Project

Public Works received the 2021 Outstanding Urban or Land Development Project Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers, Orange County Branch (ASCE OC) for its improvement of Crown Valley Park. 

This extensive project was comprised of three phases and took seven years to complete. The Project included several unique environmental and safety aspects: a sensored sprayground and a forest-themed playground; renovation of a stream bed as a wetland site, which improved the water quality; a new culvert to prevent storm flooding and park closures during rain events; and a new pedestrian bridge. The new bridge features lighting, sidewalks, and bike lanes to enhance pedestrian safety and park access. 

Also part of this project was the completion of a three-story, 30,000 square foot Community Center all ages to engage in educational, social, and recreational opportunities. The Community Center welcomes residents with a beautiful bronze butterfly sculpture depicting the City’s history. The Center's space is flexible for community activities and events with state-of-the-art classrooms, 300-person dining capacity, a lower-level aquatics center, and a rooftop patio. 

The Aquatic Center utilizes a heat exchange system with the nearby South Orange County Wastewater Authority treatment plant to heat the pool through a noncontact circulation process. A wetland habitat was created by replacing 1.54 acres of hardened channel bed. 

The project utilized significant public involvement and required extensive cooperation with various resource agencies including the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, US Army Corps of Engineers, and the Regional Water Quality Control Board.