Newport Beach’s Grant Howald Park sees new life and laughs from residents
Michelle LeBron lived in a small, back-unit townhouse on Jasmine Avenue. There was a courtyard where her three young children could play, but that didn’t afford much space. Grant Howald Park became their oasis.
“We were here six days a week,” said LeBron, “and I began to notice the condition of the park was faltering. I just said, ‘this needs major rehab,’ so I contacted [the] parks and recreation [department] and spoke with the supervisor back then and he did very little. It was, ‘OK, we’ll throw paint on the bench; we’ll power-wash.’
“He just wasn’t motivated. He’s not there any longer, but — so, I said, ‘You know what? It’s going to take numbers to make a change’ and so I created the petition,” said LeBron.
The petition in question was circulated online through Nextdoor and other platforms in 2016 and received a little over 100 signatures from residents in Corona del Mar, Newport Beach and Costa Mesa.
“Everyone came behind that petition and then they called me and they said, ‘OK, let’s meet,’ and that’s when the changes started happening,” LeBron said, adding that the support the effort received from Newport Beach Recreation and Senior Services Director Laura Detweiler, Deputy Director Sean Levin and Councilwoman Joy Brenner was “amazing.”
Grant Howald Park — located at 3000 5th Ave. — was bustling with new life Tuesday morning. While city officials chatted with some residents, parents were chasing after their children across the newly refurbished playgrounds while others were waiting eagerly to join in the fun while standing by for the official ribbon-cutting.
Corona del Mar resident Liz Keramati watched on as her two children — Jordan, 2, and Leila, 3 — rode hand-in-hand together down a slide connecting the two playgrounds.
“It looks amazing. The kids are loving it,” said Keramati, who added that she and her kids often frequented the park prior to its closure for construction in August 2020.
Leila, a little breathless, said she was having fun as she bounded across the poured-in-place rubber playground surface, hurrying to ride down the slide again with her brother.
Construction on the $6.3 million renovation took about nine months to finish. City officials said improvements included a complete rebuild of the two playgrounds, a new synthetic, multipurpose playing field, the beautification of 5th Avenue frontage with fencing and removal of utility poles, new LED sports lighting, landscaping, improved walkability and restroom and parking lot upgrades.
The park was built in 1954 and was named after Grant Howald four years later. Howald was known throughout the community for his activism with the city’s seniors and was the director of both the Newport Beach and Corona del Mar chambers of commerce. Howald was also the first local postmaster in Corona del Mar.
Howald died of natural causes in 1996.
“Everybody that’s worked on [the project] has been here from beginning to end. So, I think it’s generated a generous amount of pride and ownership. Everybody knows how valuable these projects are to the community, so it’s just been a really fun project,” said Detweiler.
“When I look around, I think about all of the people that are really involved in this project and it’s all of you. It takes an army to complete projects like these that are complex, but also try to hang onto the character of this park and what it’s meant for this community but really find ways to improve it,” she said.
Mayor Brad Avery recounted the history of the park and the Howalds, jokingly adding that, “[People] always ask, ‘Are you having fun?’ And it’s always a nuanced answer, but I will tell you [a ribbon-cutting] is the fun part,” as children played in the background.
“The park isn’t anything without the families — without the children enjoying it, without adults recreating, having a great time and, so, it really boils down to that. We make a big deal out of our buildings,” said Avery. “We’ve got 65 parks in this town, but it doesn’t matter if people aren’t using those buildings ... or a park like this gets reimagined into something that’s even more useful and provides more enjoyment for the public and more of our residents.”
Brenner, who represents District 6 on the City Council, also thanked residents for coming and for their involvement in revitalizing what she called the hub of Corona del Mar’s community.
“[This] wouldn’t be possible without Michelle LeBron,” said Brenner. “Michelle LeBron is a community member who looked at this and we’ve all been having our kids play here for years ... and maybe didn’t notice it really was going downhill and that it needed improvement.”
LeBron’s since moved from her old home on Jasmine Avenue and her three children — Ireland LeBron-Charriou, 12; Madison LeBron-Charriou, 11; and Tristan LeBron-Charriou, 9 — have gotten older since she started the petition, but she beamed with pride Tuesday.
“It’s really transformational. They went way above and beyond what I would have ever have imagined,” said LeBron. “It’s just a complete transformation from where it was back then and so I’m just thrilled. I’m really thrilled. This has always been a very busy park, but I think people are going to get much more use out of it with their kids here in the village and the [Community Youth Center].”
“I think it’s going to be much busier now and I think it might be a destination for other people in Newport Beach to come and visit this park now,” she added.
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