Civita Park Wins its Second ‘Orchid Award’

SAN DIEGO - The San Diego Architectural Foundation has honored Civita Park’s Phase 2, with an “Orchid” for landscape architecture during last week’s virtual Orchids & Onions awards ceremony. The first phase of Civita Park also earned an Orchid Award for landscape architecture in 2017.

The recently completed Phase 2 encompasses four acres and includes two colorful playgrounds, a picnic grove, restrooms, “Mining Relics Garden,” three themed gardens, a game area with regulation-size bocce, and a shaded event pavilion.

In making the award, the judges praised the thoughtful integration of history and natural elements in the playground and educational signs; the inclusiveness of the park; and the way it celebrates the out-of-doors in Mission Valley.

Orchids & Onions is the only interactive, community-based program geared towards raising awareness and encouraging practical discourse in response to San Diego’s built environment, according to the foundation’s website.

The 14.3-acre Civita Park is a public-private partnership of Sudberry Properties, master developer of Civita, the City of San Diego through the Parks and Recreation Department, and the Grant family, which owned the property and mined a quarry on the site for many decades. The city park was designed by Schmidt Design Group, developed by Sudberry Properties, and built by Hazard Construction Company. The development team also included Architects HGW, Rick Engineering and BrightView Landscapes LLC.

In addition to receiving the Orchid Awards, Civita Park has been honored with the “Healthy Places Award” in 2017 from the Urban Land Institute’s San Diego/Tijuana District, and a landscape architecture award from the American Society of Landscape Architects’ San Diego chapter.

Planning continues on three additional parks in Civita: Creekside Park, Franklin Ridge Park and Phyllis Place Park. When complete, the 230-acre community of Civita will contain 60 acres of public parks, open space and trails.