The City of Greenfield has been awarded $6 million for a new nine-acre park as part of a $42.6 million California State Park grant.
The project is part of 18 proposed projects for the state’s Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grants meant to help improve outdoor recreation for communities across California with new cultural centers, new parks and park enhancements. Greenfield is the only city in Monterey County to receive funding through this program. Other cities to receive this grant include Lemoore in Kings County and Concord in Contra Costa County, among others.
LWCF grants are part of the Outdoor Access for All initiative championed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, with a goal to leverage the outdoors to augment children’s health and well-being, especially for youth in underserved communities.
“Acquiring this grant funding was very important because, since 2021, when the project was approved for funding through round 4 of the Prop. 68 State Parks program, the total cost of the facility and park was estimated at $14 million,” says Jesus Perez, Greenfield’s parks and recreation director. “Since then, due to various economic factors, the price for our project has increased by over 78 percent to $25 million.”
The $6 million grant is part of almost $15 million in secured funding, and the city is seeking additional funding to close the more than $10 million funding gap.
The project site location will be at the corner of 12th Street and Apple Avenue, adjacent to Arroyo Seco Academy Elementary School.
Building permits for the park were submitted by the Recreation Department to the city's Building and Planning Department in December 2025, and are currently being finalized. Construction is estimated to begin in the summer of 2027.
“As we embark on the biggest expansion of State Parks in decades, these grants can also help bridge the nature gap by supporting local parks and economies, as well as mental and physical health through new connections between people and the outdoors,” California State Parks Director Armando Quintero said in a statement announcing the grant awards.
The Greenfield Park and Recreation Center will include a new facility for recreational use, a gym, a weight room, a nutrition center, a computer center and locker rooms. In addition, there are plans to have a multi-use play field, an all-inclusive playground, a parking area, landscaping, a bioswale as a landscaping feature to manage water and a running and walking path around the play field.
“The most exciting part of this project for [Greenfield] would be the indoor recreation center, which will bring more indoor sports and programs for our youth, since we currently don't have an indoor facility large enough for year-round play,” Perez says. “The second would be the all-inclusive playground structure to be developed in the park, serving all youth, including those with disabilities.”
Greenfield currently has 19 parks and the Greenfield Community Center, which serves as a hub for community programs, senior activities and events, plus the Greenfield Cultural Arts Center that hosts classes, special events and youth art programs.