Our Piedmont Recreation Department's Walking on Wednesdays group had a large turnout of 53 walkers and three K-9 best friends this week at the Exedra at our regular meeting time.
A recent Post article reported that a Palm Drive home had won a front yard landscape design award. The story had a photo but not the exact address. Before the walk I went to Palm and found it. I thought it would be fun for the other walkers to walk the street and guess which home won.
We went through the Piedmont High campus, down its "PE Hill," to the under-construction Witter Field. At Witter we found workers were applying the top, burnt orange surface over a recently laid, black undersurface. While watching the work, some history was shared.
In 1898 Piedmont real estate developer Frank C. Havens developed the Piedmont Springs Park attraction. It had a grand, palm-lined entrance that later became Palm Drive. One of the first improvements Havens made to his park was a living hedge maze modeled after Hampton Court in England. The Maze was demolished when a new School Board purchased part of the park land
in 1920 for its new high school and athletic field. The Maze was where Witter Field is today. The City also purchased Havens' remaining park land for the current Piedmont Park.
The original Witter Field surface was grass and the track around it was less than a quarter mile. The field was re-dedicated as the Witter Sports Complex in 1998 with a new synthetic turf field, a full quarter mile track, new baseball and softball fields, and a new field house. Witter Field's original synthetic turf and track were replaced in 2007 because they were worn out. By the mid-2010s they needed to be replaced again. Witter's underground drainage system also needed to be replaced, as rain could flood the field. The renovation was expected to be paid for with Measure H1 bond funds that Piedmont voters approved in 2016 for new high school facilities. However, construction costs exceeded estimates and the Witter project had to be postponed.
In February 2019, it was announced the project, which had been tentatively scheduled for that spring and summer, was being deferred for at least one year. It was determined that the costs for a new synthetic field and track surface could be paid for primarily with State facilities modernization and other funds. The project was deferred for at least another year until there
was a clearer timeframe for disbursement of these State funds. The field renovation was budgeted for $3.6 million in 2019. By 2022 it was estimated the project might cost as much as $5.5 million.
Construction finally began on June 6, 2023. The original timetable had the project fully completed in February 2024. However, many surprises caused delays. It was not just one thing. EBMUD had to install a 54-inch aqueduct that runs under the field. The contractor discovered 60,000 square feet of substandard asphalt base needed to be removed and replaced before the track could be paved. In January 2024 change orders totaling a little over $155,000 were approved for this repair.
The paving could start in February 2024, but the surfaces each needed 30 days to cure. To allow for high school spring sports, the track resurfacing was pushed back to June. The subsurface was prepared and ready for paving on June 17th, and the final completion and reopening is scheduled for Friday, August 9th. The first day of classes is August 12th.
We thought the track work looked good, and we continued to El Cerrito, Jerome, Magnolia, and Park View Avenues to get to Palm Drive. We went down the right side of the palm-lined street inspecting front yards all the way to Wildwood Avenue, and then turned around and walked back the other side. Along the way, Sherry Jacobs identified a house as the "Cat House." Sherry
said after a former owner died, it was found she had a very, very large number of cats in the house, some probably stolen from neighbors.
We came to the home of Karen and David Saenz. Since we wanted to have our group photo in front of the winner, it was revealed that this was it. David heard us and came out. He talked about the project and how his yard won the California Landscape Contractors Association's 2024 Petite Residential Beautification Award.
We completed our walk of Palm and returned to the Exedra via Park View, Winsor, and Wildwood Avenues, and through what was once Havens' Piedmont Springs Park.
Comments